Data and facts on Mercury.
Grades:
6
7
8
Themes:

Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has almost no atmosphere, and its dusty surface of craters resembles the Moon. The planet was named for the Roman god Mercury, a winged messenger, and it travels around the Sun faster than any other planet. Mercury is difficult to see from Earth—in fact, the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, for all his years of research and observation, never once was able to see Mercury.

  • Size: Two-fifths the size of Earth; second smallest in the solar system
  • Diameter: 3,032.4 miles (4,880 km)
  • Surface: Covered by a dusty layer of minerals (silicates), the surface is made up of plains, cliffs, and craters
  • Atmosphere: A thin mixture of helium (95%) and hydrogen
  • Temperature: Mercury alternately bakes and freezes, depending on what side is lit by the Sun. The sunlit side can reach up to 950° F (510° C) and the dark side can drop as low as –346° F (–210° C)
  • Rotation of its axis: 59 Earth days
  • Rotation around the Sun: 88 Earth days
  • Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mercury.
  • Distance from Earth: 57 million miles, at the closest point in its orbit
  • Mean Distance from Sun: 36 million miles (57.9 million km)
  • Satellites: 0
  • Rings: 0

Return to Planet Index

Featured Middle School Resources

Test Prep Strategies and Practice for Students

ACTIVITIES

Test Prep Strategies, Tools, and Practice Questions

Help set your students up for academic success with this packet of test-taking tips, test preparation strategies, and pr...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
Exit Tickets for Middle School Classrooms

ASSESSMENT

Exit Tickets for Middle School Classrooms

Exit tickets are a form of assessment that are often used informally to assess how well students grasped a lesson, what ...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
Geography Activities for Middle School

CHOICE BOARDS

Geography Activities for Middle School

Help students explore the world and develop their geography knowledge with this packet of geography activities for middl...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

Related Resources

REFERENCE

Venus Facts and Figures

Venus is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are close in size, but that's the only similarity.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Mars Facts and Figures

Because of its blood-red color (which comes from iron-rich dust), this planet was named for Mars, the Roman god of war.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Neptune Facts and Figures

Neptune, named for an ancient Roman sea god, is a stormy blue planet about 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

LESSON PLANS

Pluto - Facts and Figures

Return to Planet Index Pluto, named after the Roman and Greek god of the underworld, is the coldest, smallest, and oute...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Saturn Facts and Figures

Saturn, the second-largest planet, has majestic rings surrounding it.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Uranus Facts and Figures

Uranus is a greenish-blue planet, twice as far from the Sun as its neighbor Saturn.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
loading gif