The planet Mercury is very difficult to study from the Earth because of its proximity to the Sun.

It is the second smallest planet and also the fastest in its orbit since it is the innermost planet.

Mercury, The Innermost Planet

• Mercury is one of the least explored planets in the Solar System.

-Makes it hard to observe because it NEVER gets more than 28º from the Sun’s glare.

Mercury OrbitMercury Orbit

Earth

The Innermost Planet

•35,983,095 miles from the Sun on the average. •It revolves about the Sun once every 88 days in an orbit that is the most elliptical of any planet except Pluto.

Venus

Mercury

Sun

A closer look at MercuryA closer look at Mercury

Wren crater

Is barely visible at the lower center of the image, containing a number of craters within its 215 km diameter floor.

Mariner 10 oblique view of Wren crater and surroundings on Mercury.

Mariner 10Mariner 10

Mariner 10 flew over Mercury at an altitude of 756 km on in March 1974. It took many photographs of the surface of Mercury. Its photographs cover nearly half (the other half is unexplored) the surface area of the planet Mercury.

Mercury StatisticsMercury Statistics

Diameter: 3,030 Miles

Distance from Sun: 35,983,095 miles

Revolution Period about

the Sun: 88 Days

Rotation Period about Axis: 58.85 Earth Days

Number of Moons: None

Mercury, The Innermost Planet

• Atmosphere is blown away by the Solar Wind of the Sun. This is because of:– Low gravity

of mercury.– And…

Mercury, The Innermost Planet

• The sodium and oxygen particles the blistering solar wind kicks up are the primary components of Mercury's wispy atmosphere, or "exosphere,“

Information on MercuryInformation on Mercury

MercuryA planet of extremes

• Mercury is a lump of rock, barely larger than the Moon, living under the fierce heat of the burning Sun.

• It experiences extremes in temperature from over 400°C at noon to less than -150°C at night.

Information on MercuryInformation on Mercury

• On the surface Mercury is very similar to our Moon, a battered world, scarred by aeons of impacts by meteorites.

• The surface is also wrinkled, with great ridges hundreds of kilometers long called scarps, which probably appeared when Mercury cooled and shrunk soon after it formed.

• Inside of Mercury is more like the Earth. It has a core made of iron, and the centre may be molten, kept hot by radiation deep within the core.

3:2 Orbital Resonance

• Mercury is tidally locked to the Sun– Similar to the way the Moon

is tidally locked with the Earth

– After one orbit around the Sun (88 days), the planet has rotated on its axis 1.5 times

– It then takes two orbits for Mercury to rotate three times!

Artists rendition of MercuryArtists rendition of Mercury

• From Mercury, the Sun appears two and a half times larger than it does on Earth.

• The sky would appear black because there's little atmospheric scattering of light.

• One would be able to see two bright "stars," possibly discernible as cream-colored Venus and blue-colored Earth.

MESSENGER, launched Aug. 3, 2004, is only the second U.S. spacecraft sent to the planet, and it will be the first to establish an orbit. Messenger will enter Mercury orbit on 30th September 2009, and complete its mission one year later.

Caloris Basin• Early in Mercury’s history, a huge

impact occurred on the surface

Caloris Basin

• Formed an impact site known as the

CALORIS BASIN

Caloris Basin

CALORIS BASIN

It is a Large Basin that almost split planet in two.

Planet hit with a 60 mile wide iron Meteor. Leaving the LARGEST CRATER IN THE Solar System

Roman GodRoman God

Mercury originated as the Roman god of commerce and was prayed to mainly by merchants. His name comes from the Latin word "mercari" meaning to deal or trade. Later he came to be associated with the Greek God Hermes, adding responsibility for messages to his duties.

Unit 38

Mercury

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QUIZQUIZ1. What is the Diameter of Mercury?2. How long does Mercury take to go around the

Sun?3. It is a lump of rock, barely larger than the

Moon, living under the fierce heat of the burning Sun.

4. How many satellite does the Mercury have?5. In what year did the first spacecraft visit

Mercury?6. It is the spacecraft who took pictures on the

Mercury's surface?7. What is the Day time temperature in

Mercury?8. How far is Mercury from the Sun?9. Mercury was named after the Roman God who

originally was based on the Greek God _______________.

10. It is a Large Basin that almost split planet in two.