Mercury

The planet that I am reporting on is Mercury. In Greek, Mercury is named Hermes (evening star) and Apollo (morning star). Greek named it Hermes and Apollo, because Mercury serves as an alternate evening and morning star. In this report there will be four paragraphs in the body, they are: 1. Mercury's orbit; 2. atmospheric composites; 3. physical characteristics; and 4. exploration of Mercury.

First, I will be discussing Mercury's orbit, because of the planets location their orbital path differs from other planets. Mercury has a rotation period of 58.7 days, while its period of revolution around the sun is .24 years. The orbit has an angle of 7 degrees. Compared to Earth's 24 Hours-a-day, Mercury's day is 176 Earth days and a year is 88 days. It is thought that, Mercury's rotation is slower than what it used to be.

Secondly, I will be talking about the atmospheric composites of Mercury. Such as, elements making up Mercury and the temperatures. Mercury is hot, because it is closest to the sun. Mercury's extreme is 1, 380 degree F. Because of the high temperatures on Mercury, there can be no significant atmosphere. The gases that make up Mercury are: Sodium, 42%; Helium, 42%; Oxygen, 15%; and others make up 1% of Mercury. Sodium and Potassium are found, because they are diffusing from the crust and Hydrogen, Helium, and Oxygen are from Solar winds.

Now I will be telling about the physical characteristics of Mercury. Mercury has a surface like Earth's plain region with many craters. The largest crater is Caloris basin, however, basins are usually 2, 000 kilometers, but this crater being 1, 300 kilometers is the exception. Many of the craters classify from 100 meters to 1, 300 km (Caloris basin). Along with the plain region with many craters, Mercury has many curved cliffs that were formed from Mercury cooling and shrinking a few kilometers in size. it was stated that there can be no water found on Mercury in any state, but frozen water was found in the craters.

Last, I will be discussing the U. S. spacecraft, Mariner 10. The Mariner 10 viewed Mercury on March 29, 1974. The Mariner 10 was the closest to view at 197 miles away. This planet is only seen during daytime and bright twilights.

 

In conclusion, Mercury is the smallest and closest to the sun and both Venus and Mercury, alternate as evening and morning stars. With the high temperatures, Mercury has no significant atmosphere. Mercury's surface resembles the moon's surface with all the flat, plain-like, and cratered features. Even though, Mercury is hot, surprisingly enough, the craters are filled with frozen water. I trust that my report was informative to all the facts.

1: "Mercury"; The Hutchinson Dictionary of Science; 01-01-1998.

2: "Mercury"; Microsoft (R) Encarta (R) 1998 Encyclopedia; Microsoft Corp.

3: "Mariner 10"; Grolier Encyclopedia CD rom; 1997; Grolier Inc.

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