Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. The Earth is about three times farther away from the Sun than Mercury, and about three times bigger. Mercury's year is about 88 Earth days. Its day is about 59 Earth days. Mercury is a planet of extremes. Because the day is so long, it gets very hot during the day (800º F) and very cold at night (-280º F). On average, Mercury is 36,000,000 miles from the Sun. Its diameter is 3030 miles.

Mercury was named after the Roman god of commerce and thievery because it moves quickly across the sky. It is a solid planet with huge cliffs called escarpments. A major feature on Mercury is the Caloris Basin. The basin was created by a huge impact, then filled in with lava. There are no rings or moons circling the planet.

Interesting Facts
· No matter how loudly you yell on Mercury, your voice can't be heard nearby. Sound cannot travel in the planet's extremely thin atmosphere.
· From Mercury, the sun looks about three times as large as it does from Earth.
· The entire year on Mercury lasts only 88 Earth days. So if you are 10 years old on Earth, you would be age 41 ½ in Mercury years.
· If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only 38 pounds on Mercury.

Other Sites
· The Nine Planets (http://www.planets4kids.com/mercury.htm)
· Kids Astronomy.com (http://www.kidsastronomy.com/mercury.htm)
· Introduction to the Nine Planets (http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/mercury.html)