what causes the weather changes on mecury?

Question

just wondering

Answer 1

Ok stop wondering. Here is your answer from the latest information I believe is available. Observations of Mercury from ground-based observers and the Mariner 10 spacecraft have not shown evidence of a significant atmosphere compared to other planets. Mariner 10 did observe a tiny amount of helium 1000 km above the surface, but this is probably caused by the solar wind and the breakdown of Mercury's crust. Sodium, potassium and oxygen have also been detected in Mercury's very weak atmosphere, but these elements can be lost when they react with the Sun and Mercury's magnetic field.

Temperatures at the surface range between -300 and 800F (hot enough for lead to melt). This large range in surface temperature is possible because Mercury is so close to the Sun (a year is only 88 Earth days long) and does not have sufficient atmosphere present to moderate the range in surface temperature.

The bottom line? There is no weather on Mercury. Planetary weather comes from Solar heating and having an atmosphere which can be affected by this heating.

Answer 2

There is no atmosphere on the planet Mercury and therefore no weather.

If you are asking about the use of mercury in meteorological instruments, it is used in two - the thermometer and the barometer.

Mercury is a metal that is liquid at atmospheric temperatures. It expands and contracts with heat. If the mercury is held within a calibrated glass tube, the expansion and contraction of the mercury can be used to measure the temperature. This instrument is the thermometer.

The weight of the air pressing down on the surface is called the air pressure. The pressure will support a column of liquid in a tube and the height of the liquid can be used to measure the air pressure. This device is a barometer. If you used water, the tube would be about ten metres high. It's a fun experiment to do at school. The French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, made one using red wine. Mercury is about tenn times as dense as water so a barometer using mercury will be ten times smaller. This pruduces the standard mercury-in-glass barometer which is about a metre high. When measuring the air pressure using a barometer you have to make an adjustment for the temperature to counteract the expansion and contraction.