Download Mercury (by Dimitris)

Mercury
• The planet was named
after the Greek God
Hermes, while the Romans
gave it the name of their
own God, Mercurius.
• Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun and the
smallest planet of our
Solar System.
• Mercury’s orbit is so close to the Sun,
that it’s difficult for us to see it clearly
from the Earth.
• It’s slightly bigger than the Moon.
• One day on Mercury (sun rise to sun rise) is as long as
two years on Mercury and it lasts about 176 Earth days.
The planet rotates around its axis very slowly, in 59 Earth
days, while it orbits the Sun very quickly in only 88 Earth
days (average speed: 48 km/sec).
• The surface of Mercury is
heavily cratered, mainly because
it’s so close to the Sun. The
powerful gravity of the Sun
attracts various celestial objects
towards it, which inevitably have
an effect on Mercury.
• The cratered surface of the
planet was formed by the impact
of large meteorites in the early
formation of the solar system.
• The temperatures on the surface of Mercury
during daytime can range from 285 to 430
degrees Celcius.
• During the night temperatures can be as low
as -180 degrees Celcius.
• These temperature variations on Mercury
(around 600 oC) are the most extreme in the
solar system.
• Mercury’s force of gravity is only about a third
as strong as that of the Earth. This means
that someone who weighs 75 kilos on Earth
would weigh only about 25 kilos on Mercury.
The “death” of Mercury
• Mercury is the first planet
to be destroyed, when the
Sun eventually evolves
into a “Red Giant”. In
about 5 billion years from
now the Sun will start to
expand, thus swallowing
up Mercury.
• Other planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) will also
share a fate similar to that of Mercury. The Sun will
“devour” them, in the same way that the ancient God
Saturn devoured its own children.
The End
Written by:
Tounios
Dimitris