Mercury Facts
Mercury Facts You Might Not Know About
The sun appears 2 and a half times larger in Mercury's sky compared to the Earth's.
If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would only weigh 37 pounds on Mercury.
Mercury has virtually no atmosphere. It however has small traces of an atmosphere which consists minute quantities of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Sodium, Potassium and argon.
Because of the lack of atmosphere, Mercury's sky is black and the stars probably can be seen during the day.
It takes less than 88 Earth days for Mercury to orbit around the sun.
Because of a lack of an atmosphere, the temperature rises above 800°F while on the dark side it falls rapidly to -300°F.
Mercury is the most iron rich planet in the Solar System with an iron core like Earth.
The surface of Mercury is heavily cratered, looking much like our moon.
Mercury rotates slowly on its axis. It completes one rotation every 59 Earth days.
As a result of the planet's slow rotation on its axis and rapid movement around the sun, a day on Mercury—that is, the interval between one sunrise and the next—lasts about 180 Earth days.
The sun's rays are about seven times as strong on Mercury as they are on the Earth.
Planet Facts