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
5 Mercury is mentioned in myths and stories in cultures around the world It was named after the Roman god Mercury the swift-footed messenger of the gods Why might the planet have been named after this god THINK ABOUT IT Because Mercury is so close to the sun the best time to see it from Earth is at sunrise or sunset Mercury is known as a morning star at certain times of the year when it appears in the sky just before sunrise At other times it appears as an evening star just after sunset Dawn is one of the best times to view Mercury which is also called a morning star
