MERCURY – The First Planet | Planets Of The Solar System
MERCURY – In this topic, we will now know things about the first planet in the solar system that is closest to the sun, Mercury.
The planet was named after the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hermes. This is the fastest planet in the solar system to circle around the Sun.
According to Space, its temperature can reach up to 840 degrees Farenheit or 450 degrees Celsius. At night it lowers doun to -275 degrees Fahrenheit or -170 degrees Celsius. This is because the planet doesn’t have any actual atmosphere.
Mercury is also larger than the Earth’s moon but it is the smallest planet in the solar system.
The planet also have ice in the north pole due to it’s location which is shaded from the Sun’s heat.
The planet orbits around the Sun every 88 Earth days at a speed of 112,000 miles per hour 180,000 kilometers per hour.
The atmosphere of the planet is a vacuum or specifically, a surface-bound exosphere which contains the following:
- 42% oxygen
- 29% sodium
- 22% sodium
- 22%hydrogen
- 6% helium
- 0.5% potassium