The planet Mercury has the distinction of being the smallest planet within our solar system, being only 40% as large as the Earth. With a name derived from Roman mythology due to Mercury’s rapid rotation around the sun, the planet travels through space covering almost thirty miles every second. It is also the closest planet to the sun at just over twenty-eight million miles away, making it by far the warmest planet. A full day spent on the surface of the planet would calculate to around one hundred seventy-six days on Earth; and since it takes fifty-nine days to complete one full rotation around its axis only two actual sunrises would be visible each year. Although the Sun would appear twice as large if standing atop the planet Mercury, the sky would appear black because of the thin atmosphere.
Since Mercury is the closest planet within our solar system to the Sun, it has by far the hottest surface temperatures ranging from three hundred to eight hundred degrees Ferinheight, with the dark side of the planet reaching temperatures as low as -300 degrees because of the lacking atmosphere to retain warmth. This is the biggest swing in temperatures present within our solar system and is an interesting study since the surface would actually be hot enough to melt most metals during daylight hours. The sunlight from Mercury’s surface would appear 6.5 times more intense than we experience on Earth, which means even if a person would somehow survive the extreme heat and lack of oxygen they would be virtually blinded within the brightness.
It is believed that just after the Big Bang and the formation of the Mercury, the planet received massive damage from comets and, meteors, and asteroids. Although the planet is one of only three within our solar system that is perfectly symmetrical, the smooth rocky surface is riddled with craters showing extensive cosmic damage that occurred up to 4.6 billion years ago. The largest of these craters stretches over eight hundred miles across Mercury’s surface and the appearance is much like our own moon for comparative purposes.
Sunlight never reaches the polar caps of Mercury and ice has been discovered there, but the lack of a functional atmosphere would make life on the planet’s surface impossible. The solar winds sweep away what little atmosphere is present on Mercury almost continually, which means it has little protection from damaging objects in space. The atmosphere is constantly renewing and creates a vacuum like effect so gravity could not be present for extended periods of time. Its iron core generates a magnetic field thought to be less than one percent as strong as what is found on Earth, making the planets similar in overall interior composition.
The reflection qualities of Mercury are similar to our own moon, sending only about six percent of the light that strikes the surface back into space. Because of these qualities Mercury is difficult to view from our planet, and the best times to view the planet would be around sunrise and sunset. With the assistance of a telescope Mercury can be witnessed going through phases much like we associate with the moon in regards to its positioning between our location and the sun.