- Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System.
- It is the closest planet to the Sun.
- Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 Earth days, the shortest of all the Sun’s planets.
- It is named after the Roman god Mercurius (god of commerce, messenger of the gods, and mediator between gods and mortals, corresponding to the Greek god Hermes).
- Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material.
- The surface temperature of Mercury ranges from 100 to 700 K (−173 to 427 °C; −280 to 800 °F)
- Although the daylight temperature at the surface of Mercury is generally extremely high, observations strongly suggest that ice (frozen water) exists on Mercury.
- The earliest known recorded observations of Mercury are from the Mul.Apin tablets.
- Babylonian records of Mercury date back to the 1st millennium BC. The Babylonians called the planet Nabu after the messenger to the gods in their mythology.
Also Read Facts about other planets in Solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
