Introduction The planet Mercury is very difficult to study from the Earth because of its proximity to the Sun. It is the second smallest planet (it was believed to be the smallest until the discovery that Pluto is actually much smaller than originally thought), and also the fastest in its orbit since it is the innermost planet. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/mercury/mercury.html

Mercury Orbit Earth Mercury, the innermost planet, is 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 Sun http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/mercury/features.html Because of its close proximity to the Sun, Newtonian gravity doesn’t quite work and general relativity is needed to explain some of the aspects of Mercury’s orbit. In fact, this was one of the first tests of general relativity. Previously and second planet (Vulcan) was thought to explain the discrepancy. Anyway, this is an interesting aspect that should be included in this presentation. Mercury

Because of its close proximity to the Sun, Newtonian gravity doesn’t quite work and general relativity is needed to explain some of the aspects of Mercury’s orbit. In fact, this was one of the first tests of general relativity. It was previously thought that the deviations of the motion of Mercury could be solved by assuming planet (named Vulcan) or possibly a second asteroid belt inside Mercury's orbit. Sun Mercury http://www.nineplanets.org/hypo.html#vulcan ???????

A closer look at Mercury Mariner 10 oblique view of Wren crater and surroundings on Mercury. Wren crater is barely visible at the lower center of the image, containing a number of craters within its 215 km diameter floor. http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/m10_aom_2_10.html It is not clear to me which one is Wren crater

Mariner 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. http://www.the-solar-system.net/spacecraft/Mariner-spacecraft.html

Distance from Sun: 35,983,095 miles Revolution Period about Mercury 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 http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mercury/statistics.html Bold text here and any other places it is not bolded.

Information on Mercury A 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. http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/mercury.html http://www.solarsystem.org.uk/mercury Need to find some graphics for this text.

Information 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. http://www.solarsystem.org.uk/mercury/ We should find graphics to pair with this text. An image pointing out a scarp would be a place to start.

The inside of Mercury is more like the Earth The 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. http://www.solarviews.com/cap/merc/mercint.htm http://www.solarsystem.org.uk/mercury/

Roman 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. http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/coysevox/mercury.html http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/myth/mymercur.htm

Artists 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. http://www.solstation.com/stars/mercury.htm We need to have a slide on the current mission to Mercury.

MESSENGER, launched Aug. 3, 2004, is only the second U. S 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. http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Mercury/MercuryMessenger.html http://www.zgdream.com/blog/index.php?cat=11