Mercury

 Mercury is 36,250,000 miles away from the sun.  It has a diameter of 3,032 miles.  If you want to see Mercury you must use binoculars.  Sometimes you can see it without them, but not often.  It is always near the Sun and is hard to see in the twilight sky.

Mercury has a rocky mantle and crust.  We think it might have an iron core.  Mercury looks like it has cracks on the surface.  Scientists think these were formed by the planet’s crust shrinking as it cooled down.  Mercury has some smooth plains that were created by volcanic eruptions.

Mercury does have a very thin atmosphere.  Its atmosphere is constantly being “blown away” by the solar winds.  The atmosphere has small amounts of helium and hydrogen.

Mercury has the most extreme temperature range of any planet.  The temperatures range from -270 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit.  Venus is a little hotter but has a stable temperature.  Mercury has some water ice in the shadows of some craters near its North Pole!

A year on Mercury lasts only 87.97 Earth days.  It takes 176 Earth days to equal one day on Mercury.  It takes almost two Mercurial years to make one day!  Gosh, how would you count your birthdays up there?

Mercury was named for the Roman god of commerce, travel, and thievery.

Mercury does not have any moons.