The Romans named Mercury after the fleet-footed messenger of the gods because it seemed to move more quickly than any other planet.
Mercury - What It's All About 174w2f
This small, rocky planet is the closest to our mountain climbing would be awesome.
Mercury - Fun Facts 5a4bx
- Because Mercury is so close to our Sun, you'd think it was smoking hot. The daytime side of the planet (the one facing the Sun) is like a popsicle because the temperature falls to -170 degrees C (-274 degrees F).
- One of the few areas without craters is a large flat area called Caloris Basin. This flat section, 807 miles (1,300 km) in diameter, was created by an asteroid.
- Meteorites constantly crash into the planet.
- On Mercury, the sun looks black because the planet has no atmosphere to scatter the sunlight.
- One day on Mercury is 176 Earth days.
Courtesy of Pearson Prentice Hall
