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MERCURY

Roman mythology - Mercury was the swift messenger of the gods. Because the planet lies closest to the sun, it orbits the sun faster than any other planet.

see image cites for interesting details

Features

Earth Comparison

If You Were There

Average speed - 107,000 miles an hour
Rotates slowly and revolves quickly
Craters cover most of its surface
Largest crater, Calories Basin, is wider than Texas
Close to the Sun (mean distance of 35 million miles)
Greatest temperature range of any planet or satellite in solar system (night temperature can dip to -274^oF. Day can rise to 806^oF!
No matter how loudly you yell on Mercury, your voice can't be heard. Sound cannot travel in the planet's thin atmosphere.

Circles the sun in 88 Earth days
Takes 59 Earth days to rotate on its axis
Sun looks 3 times larger than on Earth

If you stayed up for a solar day on Mercury (sunrise to sunrise), you would be awake for 176 Earth days or 2 Mercurian years!
The sky is black, even in the daytime because the atmosphere is to thin to scatter light waves
From certain spots, you would be able to see 2 sunrises & 2 sunsets
If you are 10 years old on Earth, you would be 41 1/2 in Mercury years.
If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you'd weight only 38 pounds on Mercury.

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*Features*	Earth Comparison	*If You Were There*
Average speed - 107,000 miles an hour Rotates slowly and revolves quickly Craters cover most of its surface Largest crater, Calories Basin, is wider than Texas Close to the Sun (mean distance of 35 million miles) Greatest temperature range of any planet or satellite in solar system (night temperature can dip to -274^oF. Day can rise to 806^oF! No matter how loudly you yell on Mercury, your voice can't be heard. Sound cannot travel in the planet's thin atmosphere.	Circles the sun in 88 Earth days Takes 59 Earth days to rotate on its axis Sun looks 3 times larger than on Earth	If you stayed up for a solar day on Mercury (sunrise to sunrise), you would be awake for 176 Earth days or 2 Mercurian years! The sky is black, even in the daytime because the atmosphere is to thin to scatter light waves From certain spots, you would be able to see 2 sunrises & 2 sunsets If you are 10 years old on Earth, you would be 41 1/2 in Mercury years. If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you'd weight only 38 pounds on Mercury.