2007-03-18 07:52:38 · 14 answers · asked by jaque strap 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Mercury has no substantial atmosphere, and hence not enough oxygen to support life.
IF it did have an atmosphere with oxygen we still wouldn't be able to live there. A solar day on Mercury is about 176 Earth days long, and it is much closer to the sun. This makes daytime temperatures approach or exceed 800 F while nighttime temperatures fall below -250 F. With a much smaller magnetic field than Earth, it also receives far more radiation that would be damaging to life.
2007-03-18 08:09:33 · answer #1 · answered by SpaceSquirrel 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Just about anything that is made of atoms in the solar system will contain SOME oxygen. However, Mercury's atmosphere is...
1) ...very tenuous (very low pressure) therefore there is very little gas of any kind, compared to our atmosphere; if you were to stand there and try to breath, by "pulling" air into your lungs, your diaphragm muscles would not be strong enough to pull much in.
2) ...very hot, being so close to the Sun -- although it was thougth at some time that there could be some ice just below the surface near a pole (observation with the Aricebo radio-telescope used as a radar); you'd be cooked (and roasted -- no ozone protection) in about the time it takes to bake a cake here, on Earth.
3) ...made up of all kinds of atoms (e.g., lots of sodium in proportion) most of which are strongly ionised (missing electrons) because of the intensity of the sun's light.
4) ...constantly replenished with high energy solar wind hitting the surface and liberating atoms from the surface; that is why the "atmosphere" contains all kinds of things we would not normally consider as making up an atmosphere (such as sodium).
Bring your own air.
2007-03-18 16:14:52 · answer #2 · answered by Raymond 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wonder where you get the idea there is oxygen on Mercury? All the information I have read indicates that Mercury has no substantial atmosphere (outside of some small traces of mercury vapour and other metallic vapours).
But if it DID have oxygen, no way we could survive the heat or intense solar magnetic and gamma radiation without living underground a few hundred meters.
2007-03-18 22:02:41 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know (without looking it up) what kind of atmoshpere, if any, Mercury has. But I do know that on other planets, even if they have an atmosphere that contains oxygen, it's the amount of oxygen that matters. If there's not enough to keep us alive, then we can't live there.
Also, the temperature on Mercury is way too hot to support life.
2007-03-18 15:34:13 · answer #4 · answered by What the Deuce?! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mercury: a good place to cook bagel bites, not a good place to live.
Mercury is regularly engulfed in solar flares, which not only scorch the planet, but also throw off the gravity. Mercury has a wobbly obirt because of the sun, and is therfore very unhospitable. That is one reason in a million no one could live on mercury.
2007-03-18 15:29:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mercury has very little atmosphere, though some of it is ogygen. It is far too hot over most of the planet, with temperatures ranging from â180 to 430°C (â292 to 806°F)
It also has very little magnetic field, so it is being bombarded by solar radiation.
In short, it is quite uninhabitable.
2007-03-18 15:09:45 · answer #6 · answered by Jim S 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mercury doesn't have an atmosphere. It's also very hot there.
2007-03-18 15:19:32 · answer #7 · answered by eri 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mercury has no atmosphere and its reallyreally hot because it is so close to the sun
2007-03-18 15:03:28 · answer #8 · answered by mountiangirl92 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The first thing that comes to mind is the temperature. It is close to the sun and much hotter than humans can survive.
2007-03-18 14:58:15 · answer #9 · answered by Stay Low 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No atmosphere, too much heat and radiation.
2007-03-18 15:42:58 · answer #10 · answered by Ale 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋