Space Station Info :: Nine Planet Solar System :: Mercury

Mercury

The closest planet to the Sun is mercury, and it is the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.The magnitude of the Mercury has its ranges from 0.4 to 5.5 and its greatest angular separation from the Sun (greatest elongation) is only 28.3°, signify that it is only ever seen in evening. The planet remains relatively little-known: the only spacecraft to approach Mercury was Mariner 10 from 1974 to 1975, and only 40–45% of the planet has been mapped.Actually, Mercury is similar in appearance to the Moon, being heavily cratered. It has no natural satellites and no atmosphere, but has a large iron core which generates a magnetic field about 1% as burly as the Earth's. Surface temperatures on Mercury range from about 90-700 K.

Mercury is named by Romans from the god Mercury, for its fast obvious motion in our twilight sky.

Also see the

vSpace Mercury
vPhysical Characteristics of Mercury
vMercury Rotation
vMercury Orbit
vMercury Magnetosphere
vHistorical Understanding Of Mercury
vObserving Mercury
vExploration Of Mercury