Mercury

Mercury was named after the ancient Roman messenger of the gods. It is the second smallest planet of the solar system after Pluto. Mercury can be seen from Earth without using a telescope but mostly at dusk and dawn. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, at a distance of about 58 million km. The actual distance changes because mercury’s orbit around the sun is shaped like an oval instead of a perfect circle. Mercury is about 4,900 km in diameter, which is less than half as big as the Earth.

Mercury is only slightly a bit bigger than the earth’s moon. Mercury has no moons. The temperature on Mercury is different depending what side is near the sun. The side where the sun is can reach up to 510°c and the dark side can drop as low as -210°c. Mercury’s surface has seven different types of landscapes. Some areas on Mercury are covered with numerous holes called craters. Many meteorites (chunks of rock) have hit Mercury because its atmosphere is not strong enough to break them up before they hit the surface of the planet.