Mercury:

(Say it in French! Mercure)

The closest planet to the sun and is about the size of our moon with a diameter of 3,031 miles. It is covered with craters and has no atmosphere.  No one could ever live there, 1) because it’s too close to the sun, and 2) because not atmosphere means no air, and no air means there is nothing to breathe, which makes living very hard to do. Mercury is about 36 million miles from the sun.  A day on Mercury is 59 Earth days long, and a year is 88 Earth days.

 

More Facts About Mercury

 

Size: 3,031 mi. diameter-- about the same size as Earth's moon

Distance from Sun: 36 million mi. from the sun. In other words, Mercury is 22,809,600,000,000 sneakers from the sun! That's enough shoes to last a lifetime and more!

Terrain/Surface: Rocky surface has wide plains, steep cliffs, and deep craters

Climate: Up to 840 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, as cold as
-275° F during the night

Atmosphere: The only planet with no atmosphere

How Long is one Rotation of the Planet: 59 Earth days

How Long is one orbit of the Sun: 88 Earth days

Satellites: no satellites

 

Fun Fact: Because Mercury has no atmosphere, the sky is always black. Stars are visible during the daytime. (Remember, Earth's atmosphere scatters the sun's rays of light, creating the blue sky we see.)

DID YOU KNOW?

Mercury is 760,320,000,000 cheeseburgers from the Earth! YUM