The innermost planet, Mercury, is also the smallest of the principal planets
Mercury Data:
Distance from the Sun: mean 57.9 million km (0.387 a.u.) max 69.7 million km (0.467 a.u.) min 45.9 million km (0.306 a.u.) Sidereal period: 87.969 days Synodic period: 115.88 days Rotation period: 58.6461 days Mean orbital velocity: 47.87 km s−1 Axial inclination: negligible Orbital eccentricity: 0.206 Orbital inclination: 7◦0015 .5 Diameter: 4878 km Surface area: 7.475 × 107 km2 Apparent diameter from Earth: max 12 .9 min 4 .5 Reciprocal mass, Sun = 1:6000 000 Density, water = 1: 5.44 Mass: 3.3 × 1026 g Mass, Earth = 1: 0.055 Volume, Earth = 1: 0.056 Escape velocity: 4.25 km s−1 Surface gravity, Earth = 1: 0.38 Mean surface temperature: day +350 ◦C night −170 ◦C Extremes of surface temperature: day +427 ◦C night −183 ◦C Oblateness: negligible Albedo: 0.06 Maximum magnitude: −1.9 Mean diameter of Sun, as seen from Mercury: 1◦2240
Posted by Carl hendersonDec 02, 2009
Last Updated:
Dec 02, 2009