Planet Mercury

🪐 Planet Mercury: Fast, Fiery, and Full of Mystery

A small rocky world full of surprises, Mercury is the smallest planet and closest to the sun. Mercury has no moons, and less than half of it has an atmosphere. Its temperatures swing from 800°F (430°C) to -290°F (-180°C) sore to say, it is a planet of extremes.

🔍 Quick Facts:

Orbit time: 88 Earth days (shortest year)

Day length: 59 Earth days

Surface: resembles our Moon with numerous craters

Atmosphere: Extremely thin (called an exosphere)

Magnetic Field: Surprisingly strong for such a small planet

🧲 Giant Core, Big Mystery

With a massive iron core making up 85% of Mercury’s diameter, it is a small world with many surprises. Mercury defies expectations by having a magnetic field, something even Mars doesn’t have.

🧊 Ice on the Hottest Planet?

While the closest planet to the sun, it would not be surprising to anyone that water ice may exist in deep, shadowed craters at Mercury’s poles.

🛰️ Mercury Mission History

Mariner 10: conducted first flyby of Mercury (1974)

MESSENGER: conducted 4 year orbit of Mercury (2008–2015)

BepiColombo (ESA & JAXA): currently scheduled to arrive in 2025

🌌 Importance of Mercury

Studying Mercury can help us learn about the formation and evolution of Earth-like rocky planets. It may be a small planet, but it can reveal a lot about the history of our solar system.