1. Sin’Kira Khan & Dane Fujinaka
Mercury
Sin’Kira Khan & Dane Fujinaka

2. Simple facts closest planet to our sun
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Simple facts
closest planet to our sun
the smallest planet in the solar system
named after a roman god
no natural satellites
no substantial atmosphere

3. Orbit Orbiting the Sun once every 88 days very elliptical orbit
At perihelion it is about 46 million km (28.58 million miles) from the Sun
aphelion it is 70 million km
Mercury moves around the sun faster than any other planet. Mercury travels about 48 km (30 miles) per second

4. Rotation rotates once about every 59 Earth days,
lower than that of any other planet except Venus
As a result of the planet's slow rotation on its axis and rapid movement around the sun, a day on Mercury lasts 176 Earth days

5. Composition
Mercury is the second densest major body in the solar system after Earth
Mercury's smaller mass makes its force of gravity only about a third as strong as that of the Earth
n object that weighs 100 pounds on the Earth would weigh only about 38 pounds on Mercury

6. Continued
Mercury has a large iron core which is most likely at least partially molten
Generates a magnetic field about 1% as strong as that of Earth's
rocky layer called a mantle beneath the crust and has an iron core

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Surface
Consists of cratered terrain and smooth plains and many deep craters similar to those on the moon
The craters formed when meteors or small comets crashed into the planet
The largest known crater is Caloris Basin, with a diameter of 1300 km (800 miles)

8. Continued
Like the other terrestrial planets, Mercury is made mostly of rock and metal
Reflects approximately 6 percent of the sunlight it receives
Mercury is covered by a thin layer of minerals called silicates in the form of tiny particles, much like our moon

9. Water Mercury's poles contain water ice
the floors of the craters are permanently shielded from sunlight, so the temperature never gets high enough to melt the ice

10. Temperature Mercury is a planet of extreme temperature variations
he temperature on the planet may reach 450 degrees C (840 degrees F) during the day
t night, the temperature may drop as low as -170 degrees C (-275 degrees F)
The sunlight on Mercury’s surface is 6.5 times as intense as it is on Earth due its closeness to the sun.

11. Atmosphere Mercury is dry, extremely hot and almost airless
Too small for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over long periods of time
ontains hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium and potassium

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he very thin atmosphere is blasted off its surface by the solar wind and quickly escapes into space
does not have enough atmosphere to slow down meteoroids and burn them up by friction
he sun also appears about 2 1/2 times as large in Mercury's sky as in the Earth's

13. Named
In Roman mythology Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery, the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the Gods
The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky

14. Missions Only one spacecraft has ever visited Mercury: Mariner 10
imaged about 45 percent of the surface
In 1991, astronomers using radar observations showed that Mercury may have water ice at its north and south poles inside deep craters that are perpetually cold

15. Continued
Falling comets or meteorites might have brought ice to these regions of Mercury, or water vapor might have outgassed from the interior and frozen out at the poles
A new NASA mission to Mercury called MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) will begin orbiting Mercury in March 2011 to investigate key scientific areas such as the planet's composition, the structure of the core, the magnetic field, and the materials at the poles.

16. Works Cited
"The Planet Mercury." Space Projects - Space Information - Space Shop. Web. 13 Apr <
"YouTube - The Nine Planets - Mercury." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 13 Apr <
"YouTube - The Planet Mercury." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 13 Apr <