Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and the smallest planet in our solar system. With a diameter of about 3,032 miles (4,880 kilometers), Mercury is less than half the size of Earth , which ...

The planet Mercury will soon be at its best for skywatchers on Earth. These views, based on data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, show the planet's surface in stunning detail.

Click on the gallery to explore scientific facts, ancient beliefs, and modern mysticism about the planet Mercury. You may also like: Actors who played their polar opposites on-screen.

The dinky planet is approximately 3,030 miles (4,876 kilometers) in diameter, making it about as wide as the continental United States and only slightly bigger than Earth's moon. News Today's news ...

Despite being near the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet. Photo Credit: NASA Mercury completes its orbit around the Sun in just 88 Earth days, the fastest of all planets.

Mercury's surface temperature can reach a scorching 430°C under the full Sun. Photo Credit: NASA But Venus, despite being farther from the Sun, is the hottest planet in our Solar System.

Mercury has shrunk by7 km. Most of this happened long ago, but now we have evidence that it continues. Mercury: shrinking planet is still getting smaller – new research ...

However, due to its size, Mercury also is the fastest planet in our solar system, orbiting the sun every 88 Earth days. Mercury formed about 4.5 billion years ago from swirling gas and dust.

THE atmosphere in this country is generally so unfavourable that it is a very rare occurrence to see the planet Mercury even at its greatest elongation from the sun, unless carefully looked for.