CONTENTS MEET A MORNING STAR 4 TAKE A LOOK AT MERCURY 6 ROCKIN PLANETS 8 HOW MERCURY WAS MADE 10 HOW MERCURY SHRANK 12 NO ATMOSPHERE EXPLORE THE EXOSPHERE 14 MERCURY’S UNUSUAL ORBIT AND SPIN 16 DISCOVERING MERCURY 20 MARINER 10 22 MESSENGER TO MERCURY 24 LEARNING MORE ABOUT MERCURY 28 GLOSSARY 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 INDEX 32
4 MEET A MORNING STAR Mercury is one of the eight planets that orbit or travel around the sun in the solar system It is the closest planet to the sun which has made it a huge challenge for scientists to study Its average distance from the sun is about 36 million miles 58 million kilometers It travels around the sun at a faster speed than any other planet This image of Mercury was captured by a camera aboard the MESSENGER spacecraft
Mercury
Learn about Mercury’s formation, surface, atmosphere, orbit, and rotation, plus more fun facts.
