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orbit: 57,910,000 km (0.38 AU) from Sun
diameter: 4,880 km
mass: 3.30e23 kg
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the solar system, orbiting the Sun once every 88 days. It ranges in brightness from about −2.0 to 5.5 in apparent magnitude, but is not easily seen — its greatest angular separation from the Sun (greatest elongation) is only 28.3° (it can only be seen in twilight). Comparatively little is known about the planet: the only spacecraft to approach Mercury was Mariner 10 from 1974 to 1975, which mapped only 40%–45% of the planet's surface.

Physically, Mercury is similar in appearance to the Moon as it is heavily cratered. It has no natural satellites and no substantial atmosphere. The planet has a large iron core which generates a magnetic field about 1% as strong as that of the Earth. Surface temperatures on Mercury range from about 90 to 700 K (-180 to 430°C) , with the subsolar point being the hottest and the bottoms of craters near the poles being the coldest.

The Romans named the planet after the fleet-footed messenger god Mercury, probably for its fast apparent motion in the twilight sky. The astronomical symbol for Mercury, displayed at the top of the infobox, is a stylized version of the god's head and winged hat atop his caduceus, an ancient astrological symbol. Before the 5th century BC, Greek astronomers believed the planet to be two separate objects: one visible only at sunrise, the other only at sunset. In India, the planet was named Budha (बुध), after the son of Chandra (the Moon). The Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese cultures refer to the planet as the water star, based on the Five Elements. The Hebrews named it Kokhav Hamah (כוכב חמה), "the star of the hot one" ("the hot one" being the Sun).

2006-11-29 10:44:33 · answer #1 · answered by gawd0 5 · 0 0

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