In Roman mythology Mercury is the name of the god of commerce and messenger of the gods, but when talking about planets, this name also refers to the first planet of our Solar System. Known along with Venus, Earth and Mars as the four inner planets of the Solar System, there is still much we don’t know about it. However, thanks to scientists we have discovered some curiosities that perhaps you also did not know about this planet, discover below what they are:
The smallest planet: Except for the dwarf planets, Mercury is the smallest in the Solar System with a diameter of just 4,879 kilometers. To get a more accurate idea of its size, it is possible to compare it with that of the Earth, which is approximately 12,742 kilometers, which is equivalent to 38% of the diameter of our planet. In other words, it takes three Mercurys together to exceed the size of the earth. However, the differences will continue to grow, since according to research it has been known that the planet is less and less voluminous.
It is the second hottest planet: Although it is the closest planet to the Sun and therefore we could assume that it is the hottest, that distinction is taken by Venus. This is because Mercury does not have an atmosphere that allows it to regulate its temperature, reaching an average of 427 ° C during the day., but by not retaining that heat, temperatures drop below 100°C at night. For its part, Venus does have an atmosphere, although it is composed mainly of carbon dioxide and thick clouds of sulfuric acid, which trap the heat released by the planet, maintaining an average temperature of 462°C at all times.
It is the fastest to go around the Sun: As Mercury is closer to the Sun, its spin speed will be greater than that of any planet and therefore it will also have to travel a shorter distance. Being its orbital speed 47 kilometers per secondwhile Neptune, which is the farthest planet from the Sun, barely has an orbital speed of 5.4 kilometers per second.
Because of this, Mercury also has the shortest orbital motion in the Solar System, taking a total of 88 Earth days to complete one revolution around the Sun. and making it pass through the star king 4 times more than the earth. So if a 20 year old human could live on Mercury he would be 80 years old.
On Mercury it rises twice in one day: a spotted observer in certain areas of Mercury you can appreciate this incredible phenomenonin which the Sun rises over the horizon, stops, returns to where it left off, and appears again in the sky to continue its journey.
It is the planet with the most craters in the Solar System: this is due to numerous collisions with meteorites and comets, being the largest on its surface, Caloris, a crater discovered in 1974 and which has a total of 1,550 kilometers in diameter.
Without a doubt, a fascinating planet and although it is not the best to colonize, it is still being studied to understand the evolution of our galaxy.