Mercury is a little quirky. The planet is the fastest in the solar system. Yet it is very slow to rotate on its axis. So a complete rotation happens every 59 Earth days.
Moreover, one rtp naga4d solar day which is a full day and night cycle is equal to 176 Earth days. To bring it home, we wait for nighttime to sleep on Earth. So how long would you wait to go to bed on Mercury? In case you are wondering whether a day on Mercury is 59 or 176 Earth days, read on to find out.
No planet beats rtp naga4d in speed. It travels through space at almost 29 miles or 47 km per second. Thus it takes the shortest time to orbit the sun, only 88 Earth days. This is enabled by its high velocity and proximity to the sun, about 64.985 million km. So a Mercurial year takes 88 Earth days.
Furthermore, there are times when Mercury is closest to the sun at 46 million km. This point is called perihelion and aphelion when it’s furthest at 69.8 million km.
When the planet is closest to the sun, a rotation is not completed by sunrise and sunset which is the case on Earth or most other planets. So the morning Sun rises for a short time, sets, and rises again from some parts of the planet’s surface.
Seasons on planets are influenced by axial tilt and variable distance from the sun. Mercury’s axis of rotation is tilted at 2 degrees. It means that the planet spins nearlyperfectly upright and so there is no way it can experience seasons as other planets do.
In comparison, Earth has a 23.4 degrees axis of rotation tilt. So as it zips around the sun, the seasons come about depending on which side faces or is away from the sun.
Mercury is the tiniest in the solar system. It is 4,879 kilometers across its equator while Earth is 12,742 km. You would need about 18 Mercury-sized planets to fit inside the Earth. Also, this planet is only a little bit larger than Earth’s Moon.
Additionally, it can be compared to the size of the continental United States. It’s also almost as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
Closest to the Sun, this planet is expected to be the hottest in the solar system but Venus takes first place. Mercury has no atmosphere to regulate the heat that reaches it from the sun.
