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Mercury, the smallest terrestrial planet, is known as the swiftest planet, because
it changes position faster than any other planet. It is similar to the earth's moon is appearance and the size.
The surface of mercury is a rocky surface. It is covered with many craters. The largest crater known as Caloris
Basin. It has a diameter of 1300 kilometers. These craters are supposedly formed by impacts done on Mercury's surface.
There are also structures on Mercury called Scarps. Scarps are places where the crust has shifted, and as a result
cliffs have formed. Also, earthquakes may have caused some of the convoluted terrain found on Mercury.
Mercury, being the closed to the sun, has one of the hottest surfaces. It's
equator reaches 700 Kelvin, or 800° Fahrenheit. In contrast, Mercury lacks an atmosphere, making it cold at
night. It lacks an atmosphere simply because its gravitational attraction for heat or other gases which may form
an atmosphere is not present. At night it reaches cold temperatures at about 100 K or -280° F.
Much is not known about Mercury's interior. Scientists may only base their assumptions on Mercury's density and
gravitationl field. It is proposed to have a silicate crust, with an iron core. With this in mind, scientists may
also assume that Mercury does not have a strong magnetic field. Since no seismic detectors have been on Mercury,
analysis is difficult.
Mercury spins very slowly in terms of its own rotation. In two orbits, it may rotate only three times. The reasons
for this mainly include the Sun's
gravitational Forces. They may cause tidal forces, forces which act upon a planet causing changes in structure
or rotation. The strength of these forces from the sun are so strong that it makes this 2:3 proportion. Furthermore,
resonance also occurs where a force is constanly being applied. The sun's gravitational "pull" changes
as Mercury moves along its orbit.
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