http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/mercury.htm
Mercury is the
closest planet to the Sun. Mercury remained a mysterious
planet until a few years ago. It is so close to the Sun that
scientists couldn't see it using a telescope because of the Sun's
glare. In mythology, Mercury is known as the messenger of the gods. Its
diameter is 4,880 kilometers (3,032 miles) and its mass is .055 of
Earths'. The density of Mercury is 5.44 grams per cubic centimeter. A
day on Mercury is equal to 59 Earth days and a year is equal to 88
Earth days at a rotation speed of 48 Km per second. Mercury has a gravity
of .38 times of Earth's gravity. It has no moons.
Mercury is waterless,
windless, and airless. This leads scientists to believe that Mercury
has the same physical appearance now as it did when it was formed.
Mercury also has many uncountable asteroid craters on the surface.
Several areas of Mercury have steep slopes, called scarps, up
to 2 to 3 kilometers high, covering an area of a few hundred kilometers.
Geologists think that scarps may have formed when Mercury's core
cooled, causing the planet to shrink a little. There also have been
volcanic activities on Mercury.
The temperature of
Mercury's surface is as hot as 220°F, because Mercury
is the closest planet to the sun; it does not have a fast
rotation speed; and it lacks an atmosphere to protect it.
Magnetic Field
Mercury has a magnetic
field in which the solar winds push in close to the planets' side
where the Sun shines. The magnetic field stretches out into a long
tail on the opposite side, where there is a shadow. Scientists
suggest that Mercury could have a core of molten iron and
nickel. Scientists also believe that Mercury's core could be
as big as our moon. The planets' crust seems to be mostly a rocky
material made up of dark silicates (a combination of silicon,
oxygen and other elements). The magnetic field on Mercury could
capture an extremely thin veil of charged solar particles from
the Sun. If this were possible, it would act as an atmosphere.
Images of Mercury
This is an image of hills
found on Mercury.
http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/solarsys/mercury.htm#views
This is an image of crater
marks found on Mercury.
http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/solarsys/mercury.htm#views
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