2006-12-12 11:53:08 · 8 answers · asked by charity l 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Sunlight intensity on Mercury is about six and a half times as much as on Earth's sunniest day.
2006-12-12 12:15:10 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The distance from the Sun to Mercury is about 38% of the distance from Earth to the Sun. Sunlight follows the inverse square law so the sunlight on Mecury is 1/(0.38^2) = 6.7 times as strong. Our atmosphere absorbs about 20% of the Sun's energy so more of this energy reaches the ground on Mercury since there is no atmosphere. All in all, sunlight on Mercury is 8.3 time as intense as on Earth.
2006-12-12 12:13:20 · answer #2 · answered by Pretzels 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The amount of sunlight at Earth's orbit is 1370 W/m^2. The ratio of orbital radius squared is 6.66, so Mercury gets 9122 W/m^2
2006-12-12 14:33:10 · answer #3 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A mercury transit can be seen from the earth. It is just a tiny spot moving across the sun. Did you miss them? They were recently in 1999, 2003 and 2006. The word "giant" kind of gives the game away. As the sun runs out of fuel it will expand rapidly into a red giant. The sun would have to be at least 9 times more massive to be able to explode into a supernova. The initial temperature is 6,000 times hotter than the sun at 100 billion Kelvins. Phew, what a scorcher!
2016-05-23 16:15:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the Earth was at the orbit of Mercury it would get 6.67 times as much energy as it does in its current orbit. However, since Mercury has only 0.14 as much frontal area, it gets 0.976 of the energy that the Earth would at that distance from the Sun. In other words, the total number of photons hitting Mercury is actually less than that hitting Earth.
Earth
Diameter (km)12756
Dist from Sun (km)149,597,890
Area (km^2)127796483.1
Mercury
Diameter (km)4879.4
Dist from Sun (km)57,909,175
Area (km^2)18699187.01
Diameter at Earths orbit (km)32952.82112
Area at Earth's orbit (km^2)852854770.4
Energy density ratio6.673538657
Earth to Mercury area rato0.146320044
Amount of energy Mercury gets as compared to the Earth0.976472469
2006-12-12 12:20:26 · answer #5 · answered by Zefram 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot less than Uranus
2006-12-12 11:56:43 · answer #6 · answered by johN p. aka-Hey you. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
enough to melt led
2006-12-12 12:10:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All of it.
2006-12-12 11:55:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋