History

Composition and Atmosphere

• Core is made of partly-molten iron
• 70% metals and 30% salacit material
• The atmosphere is made up of H, He, O, K, Ca, Mg.

Surface Condition

• The average temperature on Mercury is 167*C.
• Mercury is very hot and dry.

History

• Discovered by Timocharis-An astronomer and philosopher from Alexandria
• Discovered around 265 B.C.
• Was discovered on Earth during twilight
• Found in Alexandria, Egypt
• The planet got its name because Mercury was the fastest planet to go around the sun, so it was named after the Roman messenger god named Mercury

Fun Facts

• Mercury is the planet closest to the sun but it is NOT the hottest
• Mercury is the most cratered planet in the Solar System.

Mercury's Measurements

• Diameter-4878Km
• Length of one year-88 Earth days
• Length of one day-58d 15h 30min
• Gravitational pull-3.7m/s squared
• # 0f natural satellites-0
• # of rings-0

Solar System

• Mercury is the first planet from the sun.
• AU stands for astronomical unit and measures distance.
• Mercury is 0.387 AU's or 57,910,000Km away from the sun.
• Mercury's orbital period is 88 Earth days.
• One day on Mercury is equivalent to 59 Earth days.
• One fun fact about the Solar System is that it was created approximately 4.6 billion Earth years ago.

Exploration

• Mariner 10 mapped half of Mercury in 1974-1975.
• Messenger got into orbit in 2011-2013 and mapped all of Mercury
• BepiColombo was launched in 2015 and is expected to enter orbit in 2022.