Mercury

The planet was named after the Greek God Hermes, while the Romans gave it the name of their own God, Mercurius. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest planet of our Solar System. Mercury’s orbit is so close to the Sun, that it’s difficult for us to see it clearly from the Earth. It’s slightly bigger than the Moon.

The surface of Mercury is heavily cratered, mainly because it’s so close to the Sun. The powerful gravity of the Sun attracts various celestial objects towards it, which inevitably have an effect on Mercury. The cratered surface of the planet was formed by the impact of large meteorites in the early formation of the solar system. One day on Mercury (sun rise to sun rise) is as long as two years on Mercury and it lasts about 176 Earth days. The planet rotates around its axis very slowly, in 59 Earth days, while it orbits the Sun very quickly in only 88 Earth days (average speed: 48 km/sec).

The temperatures on the surface of Mercury during daytime can range from 285 to 430 degrees Celcius. During the night temperatures can be as low as -180 degrees Celcius. These temperature variations on Mercury (around 600 o C) are the most extreme in the solar system. Mercury’s force of gravity is only about a third as strong as that of the Earth. This means that someone who weighs 75 kilos on Earth would weigh only about 25 kilos on Mercury.

The “death” of Mercury Mercury is the first planet to be destroyed, when the Sun eventually evolves into a “Red Giant”. In about 5 billion years from now the Sun will start to expand, thus swallowing up Mercury. Other planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) will also share a fate similar to that of Mercury. The Sun will “devour” them, in the same way that the ancient God Saturn devoured its own children.

The End Written by: Tounios Dimitris