What Would You Like To Learn About?


Learn About The
Planets


Learn About The Moons of Our Solar System
Learn About
Asteroids And Comets


All Planets (For Printing)
All Moons

Make-A-Solar System



 
Educational Websites For Kids
Search The Totally Free Children's Learning Network
Educational Articles





Mercury means:
In astronomy mythology,Mercury was the Roman version of the god Hermes. He was the messenger for the other gods, and for this reason Mercury is often depicted in pictures with winged sandals. In addition to delivering messages, he was also the protector of travelers, and merchants.








How much would you weigh on Mercury?
If you moved to Mercury you would not weigh as much as you do on Earth. Not because you would lose weight on the space ship, but because Mercury is smaller, and so has less gravity. If you weigh 70 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only about 27 pounds on Mercury.

The Planet:
The planet Mercury is the closest of the planets to the Sun. Because this planet lies so close to the Sun, and as a result somewhat near to the Earth, it is visible to observers on Earth in the night time sky. Because of this, Mercury has become apart of the mythology and legend of almost every culture throughout the history of the Earth.

This planet is often called a morning star. This is because Mercury shines brightly in the early morning, just before the sun rises. It has also been called an evening star for the same reason. Mercury often is visible for a brief period of time just after the Sun sets.


Mercury Is Heavy
Because of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury's evolution took a slightly different course than that of the other planets. As the Sun formed, it pushed much of the lighter gas and dust out of the inner Solar System, leaving behind only heavier elements.

As a result, Mercury is made out of a large percentage of heavier elements, mainly iron. It is essentially a large metal ball of iron with a very thin silicate crust.


Mercury Is Cool
Mercury is much smaller than the Earth. Because of this the planet Mercury has already cooled down completely. It does not have a molten core like those of the Earth and Venus. Mercury is solid cooled material from edge to edge.

Mercury Has Wrinkles
As the Mercury's iron core cooled, it contracted, or shrunk. This caused its rocky crust to become wrinkled. Scientists call these wrinkles Lobate Scarpes.

Mercury Is Scarred
The surface of the planet Mercury is covered with craters. These craters have been created by ions of accidental encounters with asteroids and comets. All celestial bodies within the Solar System are subject to these bombardments. However many of the planets have the ability to heal themselves through natural geological processes.

Because Mercury is a dead planet, with no volcanic activity and no atmosphere, it will forever retain its scares.


Mercury Has No Atmosphere
The planet Mercury is too small and has too little gravity to have held on to an atmosphere. Any gases released from the planet quickly escape into space.

Time On Mercury
Because of its close location to the Sun, the planet Mercury has become tidily locked to the Sun, or nearly so. The tidal forces of the Sun have over ions of time slowed down the rotation of Mercury to Match its revolution around the Sun. The result is that Mecury rotates very slowly. It takes two Mercury years for the planet to complete one rotation. In other words, one day on Mercury is two mercury years long.

Moons:
Mercury has no moons.



exploring the sun for kids


Mercury is so close to the Sun, and so small, that it has only a very small atmosphere. It has been blown away by the Sun's solar winds. That means that there is almost no air on Mercury.