6/21/2023 0 Comments Mercury orbit![]() One Mercury solar day (one full day-night cycle) equals 176 Earth days-just over two years on Mercury. The same thing happens in reverse at sunset for other parts of the surface. The morning Sun appears to rise briefly, set and rise again from some parts of the planet's surface. But when Mercury is moving fastest in its elliptical orbit around the Sun (and it is closest to the Sun), each rotation is not accompanied by a sunrise and sunset like it is on most other planets. Mercury spins slowly on its axis and completes one rotation every 59 Earth days. ![]() It speeds around the Sun every 88 days, traveling through space at nearly 29 miles (47 kilometers) per second, faster than any other planet. Mercury's highly eccentric, egg-shaped orbit takes the planet as close as 29 million miles (47 million kilometers) and as far as 43 million miles (70 million kilometers) from the Sun. From this distance, it takes sunlight 3.2 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mercury. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth. ![]() If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mercury would be about as big as a blueberry.įrom an average distance of 36 million miles (58 million kilometers), Mercury is 0.4 astronomical units away from the Sun. With a radius of 1,516 miles (2,440 kilometers), Mercury is a little more than 1/3 the width of Earth. Mercury is appropriately named for the swiftest of the ancient Roman gods. But Mercury is the fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 88 Earth days. Despite its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet in our solar system – that title belongs to nearby Venus, thanks to its dense atmosphere. 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 11 times brighter. The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. Robotic Visitors - Only two missions have visited this rocky planet: Mariner 10 in 1974-5 and MESSENGER, which flew past Mercury three times before going into orbit around Mercury in 2011.Big Sun - Standing on Mercury's surface at its closest approach to the Sun, our star would appear more than three times larger than it does on Earth.It is unlikely life (as we know it) could survive on this planet. Daytime Temperatures can reach 430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit) and drop to -180 degrees Celsius (-290 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. Tough Place to Live - No evidence for life has been found on Mercury.Ringless - There are no rings around Mercury.Atoms that are blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create Mercury's exosphere. Can't Breathe It - Mercury's thin atmosphere, or exosphere, is composed mostly of oxygen (O2), sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K).Mercury has a solid, cratered surface, much like the Earth's moon. Rough Surface - Mercury is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet.Mercury makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Mercury time) in just 88 Earth days. One day-night cycle on Mercury takes 175.97 Earth days. Long Days, Short Years - One day on Mercury (the time it takes for Mercury to rotate or spin once with respect to the stars) takes 59 Earth days.Insider - It is the closest planet to the Sun at a distance of about 36 million miles (58 million kilometers) or 0.39 AU.Smallest - Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system-only slightly larger than Earth's Moon.
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