Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. The smallest planet in our solar system and
nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon.
It is the closest planet to the Sun at a distance of about 36 million miles .
One day on Mercury (the time it takes for Mercury
to rotate or spin once with respect to the stars) takes 59 Earth days.
One day-night cycle on Mercury takes 175.97 Earth days. Mercury makes a complete orbit around the
Sun (a year in Mercury time) in just 88 Earth days.
Mercury is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet. Mercury has a solid, cratered surface,
much like the Earth's moon.Mercury's thin atmosphere, or exosphere, is composed
mostly of oxygen (O2), sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K).
Atoms that are blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create Mercury's exosphere.
No evidence for life has been found on Mercury. Daytime Temperatures can reach
430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit) and drop to -180 degrees Celsius (-290 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
It is unlikely life (as we know it) could survive on this planet.