Mercury Astronomers have traditionally used this symbol for

Mercury

Astronomers have traditionally used this symbol for the planet Mercury, and it is the medieval alchemical sign for the element mercury (Hg) as well. It consists of the biological sign for female (the sign used for the planet Venus), but topped with “horns” or a crescent. Mercury was the swift messenger god of classical Roman civilization, and the horns represent the winged hat he is usually shown wearing. In ancient Greece, he was called Hermes. Mercury’s Symbol

How did Mercury get its name? • Mercury got its name from the Roman messenger, Mercury was a fast messenger, Mercury also orbits the sun fast.

Who discovered Mercury? • The motions of the planet Mercury were recorded by several ancient civilizations, and our current name for it comes from the Roman god. It is not known who first charted Mercury, but it was no later than the 14 th century BC, when an unknown Assyrian astronomer labeled the planet.

Distance away from Earth and Sun • Mercury is 0. 387 AU away from the Sun. • Mercury is 0. 5167 AU away from Earth.

The Mass and circumference of Mercury • The circumference of Mercury is 15, 329 km. • The mass of Mercury is 328. 5 kg.

How long would it take Mercury to orbit the Sun and number of Hours per day • For Mercury to orbit the Sun it would take 87. 97 Earth days. • There are 59 (Earth) days in a day on Mercury. That is 1416 hours.

Rings on Mercury? The Planet Mercury does not have any rings.

Moons on Mercury? On mercury there are no moons.

What is Mercury made out of? • It is a liquid metal that is found in cinnibar. Since it is an element it is not made of anything else except mercury. Mercury is also called quicksilver.

Atmosphere of Mercury • Mercury's major gases are hydrogen and oxygen. Its minor gases are helium and potassium

Surface Conditions On Mercury • Mercury doesn't have any wind, the temperature makes it the 2 nd most hot planet in the Solar system, this is surprising because it is the closest to the Sun, the hottest planet is Venus, Mercury has a surface pressure that is near enough zero or a vacuum, since the planet holds no atmosphere due to its small size.

Weather on Mercury • Mercury has extreme temperatures with a high of 840'f or 450'c and has a low on the darker side of mercury -290'f and -180'c. Mercury is hot and cold and mainly doesn't have storms.

Water on Mercury? • Recent radar data shows that water ice may exist in the bottoms of craters at Mercury's poles. Although Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and can be extremely hot over most of its surface, ice may exist at the bottoms of some polar craters because the crater floors are permanently shadowed by the crater rims. Mercury's axis has almost no tilt, so its poles receive very little direct sunlight.

Humans living on Mercury? • Atmospheric changes and temperature changes. For humans to live on Mercury, they would need water, oxygen, and food on Mercury. They would also need the temperature to be more comparable to that of Earth.

Human exploration on Mercury? • No, Mercury has been visited by spacecraft from Earth, but no human has ever gone into orbit around Mercury, or stepped on the surface.