Mercury
It is named after the messenger god because it can only be seen on a few occasions a year at dusk or dawn, communicating the gods of the morning sky with those of the afternoon. The closest planet to the Sun is also the smallest. Subjected to intense solar radiation, it is an arid world, with a surface full of scars that have left millions of impacts, but also with an interesting volcanic past.
| Diameter | Mercury is 4,879 km in diameter. Here it is 5mm. On this scale it would be as small as a peppercorn. |
| Duration of the day | On Mercury, the day equals 176 Earth days. How many things could we do in one day on Mercury! |
| Year duration | What a strange thing. On Mercury the year is shorter than the day. A mercurial year lasts 88 Earth days. |
| Distance to the sun | 57.9 million km. On this scale, they are the 57.9 meters that separate you from the Sun, located in the observatory. |
| Satellites | This planet does not have any satellites. We couldn't see any moon. |
| Composition | Mercury is a rocky planet, with a large proportion of Iron, Nickel and silicates. |
| During the day it reaches 400 ˚C and at night, without a protective atmosphere, the temperature drops to 190 ˚C below zero. |
| Gravity | We would notice a gravitational force 0.38 times that of the Earth. A 50 kg person would only weigh 19 kg. And you? |
| Density | La seva densitat de 5,4 g/cm3 és semblant a la de la Terra i als minerals hematita, magnetita o pirita. |
| Did you know... | … That on Mercury, two years must pass to see a whole day pass? |
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See if it is currently visible to the naked eye at www.planetari.cat/planetes
