Search results
Mercury is one of four terrestrial planets in the Solar System, which means it is a rocky body like Earth. It is the smallest planet in the Solar System, with an equatorial radius of 2,439.7 kilometres (1,516.0 mi). Mercury is also smaller—albeit more massive—than the largest natural satellites in the Solar System, Ganymede and Titan.
Mercury is the only metal for which the alchemical planetary name survives, as it was decided it was preferable to "quicksilver" as a chemical name. History. Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC; cinnabar, the most common natural source of mercury, has been in use since the Neolithic Age.
But Mercury is the fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 88 Earth days. Mercury is appropriately named for the swiftest of the ancient Roman gods. Eyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050.
Jun 3, 2024 · Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system and the eighth in size and mass. Its closeness to the Sun and its smallness make it the most elusive of the planets visible to the unaided eye. Because its rising or setting is always within about two hours of the Sun’s, it is never observable when the sky is fully dark.
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System. One of five planets visible with the naked eye a, Mercury is just 4,879 Kilometres across its equator, compared with 12,742 Kilometres for the Earth. Mercury is the second densest planet. Even though the planet is small, Mercury is very dense.
Mercury Facts. The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. From the surface of Mercury, the Sun would appear more than three times as large as it does when viewed from Earth, and the sunlight would be as much as seven times brighter.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It’s just a little bigger than Earth’s Moon. Mercury itself, though, doesn’t have any moons. It is the closest planet to the Sun, but it’s actually not the hottest. Venus is hotter.
Jun 9, 2023 · Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in the solar system. Here we explore the strange world in more detail.
Oct 20, 2023 · Size: Mercury is about 3,032 miles (4,880 kilometers) across. That makes it the smallest planet in the solar system. In fact, Mercury is just a little larger than Earth’s Moon.
Oct 19, 2018 · Mercury has no rings, no moons, and a relatively weak magnetic field. Mercury is a scarred world covered in craters, ridges, and bright debris from numerous impacts.
