Made by: Anuuke VannavongMade by: Anuuke Vannavong

FactsFacts

• Diameter (km)- 4878 km• Distance from Sun (km)- 57,900,000• Mass (kg)- 33 x 10 to the power of 22 (kg) • Surface Gravity (Earth = 1)- 0.38• Average Temperature- 179 degrees Celsius • Length of Sidereal Day- 58 Earth Days• Length of year- 88 earth days • Number of observed Moons- 0

HistoryHistory

• The Planets Name- Mercury

• Who Named it- Civilization of Sumeria

• What the Name Means- Roman Mythology. A god that served as messenger to the other gods and was himself the god of commerce, trade and thievery.

DiscoveryDiscovery

• Mercury was discovered by the Babylonians which was thousands and thousands of years ago.

• Mercury was discovered when people of early history looking up in the sky and seeing it with their own eyes.

Planet StructurePlanet Structure

• The planets Structure is the same as the planet earth but with a larger inner core.

AtmosphereAtmosphere

• So far, observations of Mercury from ground-based observers and the Mariner 10 spacecraft have not shown evidence of a significant atmosphere compared to other planets. Mariner 10 did observe a tiny amount of helium 1000 km above the surface, but this is probably caused by the solar wind and the breakdown of Mercury's crust. Sodium, potassium and oxygen have also been detected in Mercury's very weak atmosphere, but these elements can be lost when they react with the Sun and Mercury's magnetic field.

• http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mercury/Atmosphere/atmosphere.html

Mercury’s orbit and rotationMercury’s orbit and rotation• http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Mercury/rotation.html• Orbit and Rotation of Mercury • Mercury has a rather unusual motion: • orbit radius ~ 0.4 R_Earth • distance from sun ~ 0.4 AU, but quite eccentric

– min distance = 0.31 AU – max distance = 0.47 AU

• orbit period: ~90 days • rotation period: ~60 days • The rotation period is (almost) exactly 2/3 of the orbit period.• This is an example of tidal effect. • Recall that for the Moon, the rotation period is 1.00 times the orbit period. • What would you see if you wore your purple clothes and stood on Mercury?

Think it through, with a picture.The rotation is 1.5 times as fast as the orbital revolution.

MissionMission• We see that after one Mercury year, the time of day has gone from noon to midnight!• Launch DateMissionArrival DateTypeEquipmentGoalData-base11/1973Mariner1003/1974Flyby Mercury-TV

photography-celestial mechanics and radio science-scanning electrostatic analyzer and electron spectrometer-triaxial fluxgate magnetometer-extreme UV spectrometer-two-channel IR radiometer-energetic particles experimentto measure Mercury's environment, atmosphere, surface, and body characteristics; to perform experiments in the interplanetary medium and to obtain experience with a dual-planet gravity-assist missionthe first and only spacecraft to visit Mercury to date; it was confirmed that Mercury had no atmosphere and a cratered, dormant Moon-like surface was shown in the images; Mercury was shown to have a small magnetic field and a relatively large iron-rich coreYes08/2004MESSENGERMercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging Orbiter-Mercury dual imaging system (MDIS)-gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer (GRNS)-X-ray spectrometer (XRS)-Mercury laser altimeter (MLA)-atmospheric and surface composition spectrometer (MASCS)-energetic particle and plasma spectrometer (EPPS)-magnetometer (MAG) -radio science (RS) experimentsto study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit; specifically, the scientific objectives of the mission are to study the surface composition, geologic history, core and mantle, magnetic field, and tenuous atmosphere of Mercury, and to search for water ice and other frozen volatiles at the poles over a nominal orbital mission of one Earth year 2013?BepiColumbo Orbiter Mercury Planetary Orbiter:-wide-angle and narrow angle cameras -infrared spectrometer-ultraviolet spectrometer-gamma, X-ray, and neutron spectrometers-laser altimeter-Near Earth Object telescope and detection system-radio science experimentsMercury Magnetospheric Orbiter:-fluxgate magnetometers-charged particle detectors-wave receiver-positive ion emitter-imaging system to study Mercury's form, interior structure, geology, composition, and craters, origin, structure, and dynamics of its magnetic field, composition and dynamics of the vestigial atmosphere, test Einstein's theory of general relativity, search for asteroids sunward of Earth, and to generally study the origin and evolution of a planet close to a parent star

FactsFacts

• Quick Facts about MercuryTopicDataDiameter4879.4 kmDensity5.43 g/cm3Mass3.303 x 1023 kgVolume6.084 x 1010 km3Temperature Range-173° C to 427° CAtmosphereSome Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen WindsNoneMoonsNoneAverage Distance from Sun57,910,000 kmOrbital Period0 Years, 87 Days, 23.3 HoursRotation58 Days, 15.5 HoursTilt0.00°RingsNoneCompositionIron Core, Silicate SurfaceMagnetic FieldSlight

BibliographyBibliography

• http://www.unb.ca/passc/missions/mercurymissions.html

• http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~soper/Mercury/rotation.html

• http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mercury/Atmosphere/atmosphere.html

• http://www.daviddaring.info/encyclopeda/M/Mercury.html

• http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/mercury-facts.html