Mercury

What does Mercury mean in Greek?
Roman version of the god Hermes.
He was the messenger for the other
depicted with winged sandals.
In addition to delivering messages, he
was also the protector of travelers, and
merchants.

THE ROMANS
CALLED
MERCURY
(MERCUIUS)
BECAUSE IT
MOVES SO
SWIFTLY

DISTANCE FROM THE SUN
 Mercury is located 57,910,000 km (36
million miles) (0.38 AU) from the Sun.
It is the first planet from the Sun.
Mercury is a inner planet .
 It is a terrestrial or rocky planet (Like
Earth).

DIAMETER
o 4,878km (3,032
miles) at its
equator, which is
about two-fifths of
Earth's diameter.
o 0.38 OF EARTHS
DIAMETER OR
3,032 MILES

ORBIT
ROTATION = 59 EARTH DAYS
REVOLUTION = 88 EARTH DAYS
Mercury takes only 88 Earth days to
complete one orbit, but it rotates slowly on
its own axis, only once every 59 days.
This means that it rotates precisely three
times for every two orbits.

ATMOSPHERE
Mercury is dry, extremely hot and almost airless.
Planet Mercury is too small for its gravity to
retain any significant atmosphere over long
periods of time.
Mercury’s thin atmosphere contains hydrogen,
helium and oxygen. It also has smaller amount
of sodium, potassium , calcium and magnesium.

Composition
 Mercury is the second densest major body in
the solar system after Planet Earth.
Mass: 5.5% of Earth’s
Mercury's smaller mass makes its force of
gravity only about a third as strong as that of the
Earth. An object that weighs 100 pounds on the
Earth would weigh only about 38 pounds on
Mercury.

• INTERNAL
STRUCTURE
Mercury’s interior
has three main
parts: a core,
mantle, and
crust.
Mercury is the
most iron-rich
planet in the
Solar System.

SURFACE
 The surface of Mercury consists of CRATERED
TERRAIN and smooth PLAINS and many deep
craters similar to those on the moon.
 The craters formed when meteors or small
comets crashed into the planet. The largest
known crater is CALORIS BASIN , with a
diameter of 1300 km (800 miles)
 Mercury’s size and surface are similar to that of
our moon.
 .

TEMPERATURE
 Being the smallest planet and the one closest to the sun gives
Mercury a fiery reputation.
 During day Mercury temperature can raise to a searing 750°F
(400°C) then at night can plunge to -290°F (-180°C)
 This is because of Mercury’s thin atmosphere letting the sun
rays in and out easily, resulting in drastic temperature
changes.
 Mercury is very hot during the day and very cold during the
night
 On Mercury the sun shines 6 times more brightly then on
earth and the because of the thin atmosphere the sky will be
black.

ICE CAPS AT THE POLES?
Scientists think that Mercury may have ice caps
at its north and south poles.
They think that the ice exist deep inside craters.
The floors of these craters constantly stay in
shadows, so the Sun doesn’t melt the ice.
Scans of Mercury made by Earth-based radar
indicate that craters at Mercury's poles contain
water ice .

Mission to Mercury
Missions to Mercury have been limited, there
has been only two space crafts that have
voyaged to Mercury
 In 1974-1975 the probe Mariner 10 flew past
Mercury tree times and photographed half the
surface.
Then in August 2004 Messenger was launched
to map the surface of planet Mercury and study
the magnetic field and composition. Messenger
is still active, orbiting Mercury.

NEED TO KNOW
 Mercury is the 1st planet from the sun (Closest)
 Looks almost like our moon but has no moons of its own.
 Mercury doesn’t have any natural satellites.
 Known for its temperature changes
 No wind
 No water.
 No oxygen
 No chance for alien life.
 Mercury is part of the five planets that can be seen
without a telescope

Mercury

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Mercury