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Mercury travels
around the Sun faster than any other planet, taking only
88 Earth days to orbit the Sun. Unlike the Earth, whose
rotation on its axis takes 24 hours, Mercury takes about
59 Earth days to make complete rotation. Mercury's rotational
period is exactly 2/3 of the time it takes for Mercury to
complete one orbit around the Sun. In this animation you
can explore this 3:2 spin-orbit resonance. |
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Mercury is the
second smallest planet; only Pluto is smaller. In fact,
Mercury is not much larger than our Moon. In this animation
you can find out how Mercury "sizes up" to Earth
or any other planet. |
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Since Mercury
rotates exactly three times for every two orbits, a day
on Mercury would be quite different from a typical Earth
day. In fact, because of this 3:2 resonance, you would have
daylight for 176 consecutive Earth days followed by 176
Earth days of darkness. Even more interesting is the path
of the Sun as seen from the surface of Mercury around high
noon. In this animation you can experience this typical
Mercurian day. |
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Because Mercury
is the closest planet to the Sun, the Sun would appear much
larger than it does on Earth. Sunrise to sunset on the planet
Mercury takes 176 Earth days where the sun would appear
to grow and shrink in size. In this animation you can experience
a different view of the Sun. |
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Want to challenge yourself with some Mercurian Trivia? If so, check out the Fast Fact Challenge which contains questions about this mysterious planet. |
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If the Beginners Fast Fact Challenge wasn't so challenging, test your knowledge here with more Mercurian trivia. |
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From take-off to its final flyby, watch the MESSENGER spacecraft's journey to the planet Mercury. This site contains over 10 different movies. |
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The objects in our solar system have an enormous range of sizes and masses. This animation is intended to help you compare the masses of individual bodies the planets, our Moon, and the Sun. |
