Mercury Printout

• How far is Mercury from the Sun?

  • Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.

  • Mercury is  29,000,000 to 34,000,000 miles from the Sun, depending upon where it is in its orbit around the Sun.  

  • Its orbit is not a circle.  It is an ellipse.

  • On average, Mercury is 57.9 million kilometers from the Sun.

   

• How big around is Mercury? (What is its diameter?)

  • Mercury is only about 1/3 the size of Earth.

  • Mercury's diameter is 4879 in kilometers.

  • Mercury's diameter is 3,030 in miles.

   

• What does Mercury look like?

  • Mercury is very hot. 

  • Mercury has no moons.

  • It is made of rock.

   

• Why is this planet named Mercury?

  • When astronomers of long ago were studying the night sky, it seemed to them that Mercury moved very quickly.  The planet seemed to move quickly because it the the closest planet to the sun and its orbit around the sun is smaller than that of any other planet.

  • They named the planet after Mercury, the messenger of the gods, because he too traveled very quickly.  

   

• Can we see Mercury in the sky at night?

  • Not very often.  It can be seen from earth but it is too close to the sun for us to see it very often.  

  • To see if Mercury is visible to us at this time of year, check the Sky Maps.

Links to Other Sites

• Explore a Planet - Mercury
• Astronomy for Kids