Mercury
- Type
- Planet
- Diameter
- 3,032 miles
- Distance from Sun
- 35,983,125 miles
- Orbit Time
- 87.909 Earth days
- Length of Day
- 58.646 Earth days
- Temperature
- 806°F (day) to -292°F (night)
- Atmosphere
- Thin, mostly oxygen (O2), sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K)
- Date of Discovery
- Unknown
- Mercury has a large iron core that makes the planet very heavy. It is a larger percentage of the planet than the other planets.
- Draw Mercury showing the craters and shapes we see on the surface.
- Located in
- Solar System, orbiting the Sun
- Mercury's name comes from the Roman god who was described as a winged messenger. The Babylonians called it Nabu, who was also said to be a messenger.
- Mercury moves at over 29 miles per second as it speeds through space.
- Mercury is both the Evening Star and the Morning Star (Venus can also be called this) as it sometimes appears just before the sun rises during the morning, or just as the sun sets in the evening.
