Mercury

[About the Planet]

Mercury

Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets and the closest to the Sun. It is difficult to see from Earth because sunlight overwhelms it. Standing on Mercury, you would see a Sun three times as wide as it looks from Earth!

[Extreme Environments]
Mercury has almost no atmosphere to retain heat, so its days and nights have extreme temperature differences. Daytime temperatures reach 430 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt tin and lead. At night, they plunge to minus 170. No known life can survive there.

[Orbit]
Mercury orbits the Sun in only about 88 Earth days. It is named after the swift Roman messenger god, who traveled on winged sandals.

[Did You Know?]
Although closest to the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet. Its cratered surface resembles our Moon, recording countless impacts from its early history.

[Symbols & Legends]

In astrology, Mercury represents intelligence, logic and communication. In Roman mythology, Mercury is the swift messenger of the gods, wearing winged sandals.

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