A sunrise takes patience
One sunrise-to-sunrise day on Mercury lasts about 176 Earth days—two Mercury years.
← Solar SystemSmall planet.
SOLAR SYSTEM / MERCURY
Small planet.
Extraordinary extremes.
A small, cratered world of extremes. The closest planet to the Sun races through its orbit in just 88 Earth days.
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DRAG TO ROTATE
ARTISTIC MODEL · TEXTURE & ROTATION NOT TO SCALEMEAN DIAMETER4,879 km
DISTANCE FROM SUN57.9 million km
ORBITAL PERIOD88 days
TERRESTRIAL PLANET / PLANET 01
Small facts. Big discoveries.
Close, but not hottest
Venus is hotter even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Mercury has almost no atmosphere to retain heat.
Ice in the shadows
Permanently shadowed craters near the poles can shelter water ice, despite the blazing daytime heat elsewhere.