Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and is also the smallest of the eight planets in our solar system. The cometlike tail that is seen on the end of the planet is created by atmospheric gasses that are pushed by solar light. A planet as small and as hot as mercury has no possibility of retaining a significant atmosphere, if it ever had one. The earth is the densest planet in the solar system. Hot and barren with hardly any atmosphere, its rocky surface is covered in craters.
Mercury may be the closest planet to the sun but it experiences temperature changes that are the most extreme of any planet in the solar system, including dropping to 275 f170 c. Your weight on mercury would be 38% of your weight on earth. The closest planet to the sun, mercury is also the smallest planet in the solar system. Because the planet is so close to the sun, mercurys surface temperature can reach a scorching 840 degrees. Unlike our thick atmosphere, mercury has a very thin atmosphere. Messenger mercury surface, space environment, geochemistry, and ranging was a scientific investigation of the planet mercury that launched in august 2004 and entered mercury orbit in march 2011, after making three flybys of mercury and one each of earth and venus over six and a half years. It has a thin atmosphere, and it doesnt have any moons. The diameter of planet mercury is 4,878 km 3,031 miles 5. The planets small size means that its gravity is too weak to hold down a normal atmosphere. The solar wind still blows much of it away, so sources on the planet are constantly replenishing it.
Mercury s magnetic field is offset relative to the planets equator. Only slightly larger than the earths moon, mercury s surface is covered with craters. The atmosphere is the air that plants and animals breathe to survive. Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets and is closest to the sun. The planet mercury has often been used as a setting in science fiction. Mercury, the planet nearest the sun, is also the smallest planet in the solar system. The planet rotates on its axis extremely slowly, taking 59 days compared to earths 24 hours. The sheer vastness of it, along with the trillions upon trillions of objects in the many billion galaxies of the universe is almost incomprehensible to the human brain. While mercury doesnt have enough atmosphere and is too hot for life. Oct 19, 2018 like the other planets in the solar system, mercury was born about 4. Mercury has no atmosphere and no known satellites, perhaps because of its proximity to the sun 4. Mercury s thin atmosphere is constantly being blown away into space by the pressure of sunlight and by the solar wind. The educational version has activities that meet common.
For every 2 orbits of the sun, which takes around 88 earth days, mercury completes three rotations of its axis. Eddisons mercury resembles earth in all respects except in details of geography. Oct 18, 2016 but on mercury, the thin atmosphere does nothing to stabilize the incoming solar raysand because the distance to mercury from the sun is so small, the day side of the planet feels the heat. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.
Chemicals leak out of the planets surface to replace them, so mercurys atmosphere is continually changing. A day on the surface of mercury lasts 176 earth days. Recurring themes include the dangers of being exposed to solar radiation and the possibility of escaping excessive radiation by staying within the planets slowmoving terminator the boundary between day and night. No spacecraft has visited the surface of mercury, but we can guess that its rocks are similar to earths. Mercurys thin atmosphere is constantly being blown away into space by the pressure of sunlight and by the solar wind. The earths atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen 78%, oxygen 21%, argon. Many atoms in mercury s surface rocks and in its tenuous atmosphere become ionized when struck by energetic particles in the solar wind and in mercury s magnetosphere.
Organics, a building block for life, were also found on the planets surface. Facts about mercury curious mind facts and information. Earths atmosphere divided in 5 sections from the surface. Mercury has just 38% the gravity of earth which means that the weight on mercury will be just 38 % of the weight on earth. The atmosphere of mercury is one of the most tenuous in the solar system. This page is a continuously updated list of the most incredible, aweinspiring and unbelievable facts about space. Mercurys magnetic field is offset relative to the planets equator. Mar 12, 2012 caption when you look at an image of mercury, it looks like a dry, airless world. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and the closest to the sun. It is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to the sun. Because of the weak gravitation of mercury approximately 38% of the gravitation pull of earth, the gases from its atmosphere constantly. It is a terrestrial planet, which means it is an earthlike planet made up of rocks or metals and has a hard surface. Scientists believe that they have found evidence that shows that part of the metallic core is molten or liquid.
Thin atmosphere of mercury, formation and composition. Mercury, the innermost planet the sodium and oxygen particles the blistering solar wind kicks up are the primary components of mercurys wispy atmosphere, or exosphere, 9. Mercury, interior, atmosphere, moons, poles, myths, missions. The first visit to mercury was a flyby made by the mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. Helium is the funny gas that makes you sound like donald duck if you suck it from a party balloon. Mercury fun facts cool kid facts fun facts for kids. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system 2. At mercurys surface, the pressurethe force exerted by the atmosphereis less than one trillionth that at earths surface. The closest planet to the sun is mercury a tiny, hot, lifeless ball of rock that races around the sun in less than three months. Facts about mercury a year on mercury is just 88 days long. Mercury facts interesting facts about planet mercury.
After earth, mercury is the second densest planet in our solar system. During the day, temperatures can reach a blistering 806f 430c, which is hot enough to melt lead. Seuss, famous author of childrens books and alvin ailey, a pioneer in dance. Its the second smallest planet in the solar system, after tiny pluto. In fact, mercurys atmosphere is so thin that is barely exists.
Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system and the eighth in size and mass. Another recurring theme is autocratic governments, perhaps because of an association of mercury with hot. There are 8 planets and over 160 moons in the solar system. It is the fifth brightest object in the solar system and is also easily studied through binoculars or a small telescope saturn was known to the ancients, including the babylonians and far eastern observers. However, the name is used purely for its exotic value, and there is no attempt to make the characteristics of the world correspond to any facts known or believed about mercury in the 1920s. Mercury has a very thin atmosphere, which is made up of atoms from the surface of the planet that have been blown away by solar winds. Even though the planet is small, mercury is very dense. The atmosphere is made up of mostly nitrogen 78% and oxygen 21%. Mercury is too small and hot for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time. It does feel the presence of solar weather, with the constant ebb and flow of the solar wind bombarding its surface. The atmosphere of venus is too thickthe planets surface temperature is more than 460 degrees celsius 860 degrees fahrenheit. From earth, mercury can only be seen easily during twilight.
As a result, the gases in its atmosphere keep escaping into space. Thats because like the moon, theres no atmosphere and it. Mercurys core is metallic with a radius of around 1,289 mi2,074 km, which is about 85% of the planets entire radius. Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15minute book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading 14 fun facts about mercury. Mercury travels around the sun more quickly than any of the other planets in the solar system. Unlike the other planets, mercury has no significant atmosphere, or surrounding layers of gases. It also protects us from space, which is very cold.
Mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, dwarf planets. Apr 20, 2015 the closest planet to the sun, mercury is also the smallest planet in the solar system. Mercury can also get as low as 270 degrees at its night. Learn about these questions and many more fun facts in this 15minute book. Atmosphere atmosphere the atmospheres of other planets. All about mercury nasa space place nasa science for kids. Mercury orbits the sun faster than any other planet, taking only 88 days to make one complete orbit. Because mercury is so small, its gravity is weaker than other planets. Of these, the planets venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, and neptune have significant atmospheres. Mercury is only slightly larger than the earths moon.
Astronomical bodies retain an atmosphere when their escape velocity is significantly larger than the average molecular velocity of the gases present in the atmosphere. There are lots of other gases that are part of the atmosphere, but in much smaller amounts. Instead of an atmosphere, mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. Pictures of it taken by the mariner spacecraft show that it looks a lot like our moon. But you might be surprised to know that mercury does have an atmosphere. With virtually no atmosphere, mercury feels very little in terms of traditional weather. Mariner 10 imaged about 45 percent of mercurys surface and discovered its internal magnetic field, among other things. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, jupiters moon ganymede and saturns moon titan are also both larger in diameter. The elements contained in mercurys exosphere are helium, hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and water vapor. Mercury seems to have a stream of particles that appear to expand out from the surface giving it a look like it has tails. Unlike mariner 10, the messenger spacecraft had instruments that could measure ions. Different climates are found all over the world and the thing that holds them all together is of course the atmosphere.
Mercury orbits the sun in 88 days, which means 1 earth year on mercury is 88 days. The lack of atmosphere also contributes to the planets wild temperature extremes. Mercury has a very tenuous and highly variable atmosphere surfacebound exosphere. Like the other planets in the solar system, mercury was born about 4. Mar, 2020 mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system and the eighth in size and mass. Mercury, interior, atmosphere, moons, poles, myths.
Mercury is the second hottest planet in the solar system, reaching up to 800 degrees. The core at mercurys center is mostly made up of iron and takes up about 75% of the planets radius. Regardless of how hard its been to get to know mercury on the level weve desired, we now know more about this planet than ever before. Mercury has a weak magnetic field whose strength is about 1% of the magnetic field on earth. The atmosphere of mercury is a tenuous exosphere that contains varying elements. Mercurys surface looks a lot like our moon, full of craters. Terrestrial planet facts for kids the inner planets.
Mercury s exosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium. Because its rising or setting is always within about two hours of the suns, it is never observable when the sky is fully dark. Mars, fourth planet in the solar system in order of distance from the sun and seventh in size and mass. Without our atmosphere earth would be barren and dead just like the moon or mercury. The exospheric species originate either from the solar wind or from the planetary crust. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Jupiters moon europa has a thin atmosphere rich with oxygen. In comparison, earths core makes up a lesser part of its mass. Nevertheless, the traces of atmospheric components that have been detected have provided clues about interesting planetary processes.
Mercury has no atmosphere and no known satellites, perhaps because of its proximity to the sun. A 15minute book 15 minute books kindle edition by jeannie meekins. However, mercury has a very thin atmosphere, so the heat of the day escapes very quickly at nighttime. To be sure, mercurys surface pressure is less than onetrillionth that of earth. Mercury facts for kids interesting facts about planet. It could possible perhaps be related to the facts that the earth is more than three times as far from the sun as mercury is, and that if mercury ever had an atmosphere to distribute heat from the.
Mercury has a very tenuous and highly variable atmosphere surfacebound exosphere containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and water vapor, with a combined pressure level of about 10. Mercury looks a lot like our moon, but there are some differences, notably the fact that mercury is bigger than our moon. It is a periodically conspicuous reddish object in the night sky. Only slightly larger than the earths moon, mercurys surface is covered with craters. There are intriguing clues that billions of years ago mars was even more earthlike than today. Mercury does have a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere. The elements contained in mercury s exosphere are helium, hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and water vapor.
Mercurys exosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium and potassium. These include argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, hydrogen, and more. Apr 27, 2020 mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. The core at mercury s center is mostly made up of iron and takes up about 75% of the planets radius. Atmosphere the atmospheres of other planets britannica. Mercury and mars have some of the right ingredients, but their atmospheres are far too thin to support life. The planet mercury is a bit larger than the earths moon. Information on mercuryinformation on mercury mercury a planet of extremes mercury is a lump of rock, barely larger than the moon, living under the fierce heat of. It has a solid surface that is covered with craters like our moon. Saturn is the most distant planet that can be seen with the naked eye. The surface of mercury looks much like earths moon.
Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury, not quite so hot as venus, has an airless, cratered surface like the moon, but so far as mariner 10 could see without the plains or maria which appear on. Its closeness to the sun and its smallness make it the most elusive of the planets visible to the unaided eye. As mercury is so hot, these atoms quickly escape into space and so its atmosphere is constantly being replenished. For more information on mercury, check out our article. Mercury facts for kids interesting facts about planet mercury.
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