Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun
Did you know that Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and also the second smallest planet after Pluto?
The second smallest planet
If you think of Mercury as a big rock with no atmosphere and a lot of craters, you’re pretty much on the right track. The second smallest planet (Pluto is the smallest), Mercury is just 3,031 miles across. It has no moons (*aww*) and no rings (*double aw*). A very thin atmosphere surrounds the planet; one billion times thinner than Earth’s atmosphere. Because Mercury doesn’t have an atmosphere to protect it from space debris, its surface is covered in craters like the Moon. But don’t let its small size fool you—Mercury is *very* dense, making it nearly twice as dense as our own Earth!
Since Mercury is so close to the sun, it gets very hot (up to 800°F!) and very cold (-280°!). One day on Mercury takes 59 days for us on Earth! That means one year on Mercury lasts 88 days—much shorter than any other planet in our solar system
It takes Mercury 88 days to circle the Sun
Mercury circles the Sun faster than any other planet. It takes just 88 Earth days to complete one orbit around our sun. One day on Mercury lasts 175 Earth days—almost two-thirds of an Earth year. The Sun looks very small from Mercury, but it is the same size as it looks from the surface of the Earth (so don’t worry, you’re not shrinking).
Mercury has a rocky surface, similar to Earth’s moon.
Similar to the moon, Mercury has a rocky surface. The planet does not have any moons or rings, and is the second smallest planet after Pluto. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and it takes 88 days for it to circle the sun. A day on Mercury lasts 175 Earth days.
Mercury has nearly no atmosphere
In case you’re wondering, 800 degrees is the hottest temperature. That’s hotter than any oven in your kitchen, and definitely hotter than the surface of any other planet in our solar system (excluding the Sun and Moon). If you were on Mercury, you would need to wear a spacesuit to protect you from the extreme heat and cold.
Your life is full of both hot days and cold nights as well—or at least it tends to be. You’re always busy with something new or hopping from one adventure to another. It might be hard for others to keep up with you!
During its orbit around the Sun, the planet appears to go backwards (also known as retrograde) about 3 or 4 times each year for about 3 weeks at a time.
It appears to go backwards (aka retrograde) about 3 or 4 times each year for about 3 weeks at a time. This is just an optical illusion, though, and what’s really happening is that Mercury is making its normal orbit around the Sun…except because it moves faster than Earth, as we pass it by it looks as though Mercury has stopped and started moving in the opposite direction. Retrograde periods are actually a great time to slow down, review plans, and reflect on what you need to communicate more effectively.
Our manner of communicating can be seen through the placement of this planet in our birth chart.
Mercury, in our birth chart, shows how we communicate.
The sign of Mercury shows how we express our thoughts and feelings.
The house of Mercury shows what area of life our communication focuses on.
The aspects of Mercury show how easy or difficult it is for us to express ourselves.