Mercury Statistics

Planetary Symbol: Name in Roman/Greek Mythology: Mercury/Hermes
Diameter: 4,878 km (3,030 miles) Rotation Period about Axis: 58.65 days
Mass: 0.33x10^24 kilograms (0.06 x Earth's) Revolution Period about the Sun: 0.24 years
Density: 5,427 kg/m^3 Tilt of Axis: 0o
Minimum Distance from Sun: 46.0 million km
(28.6 million miles)
Surface Gravity: 3.7 m/s^2 (0.38 x Earth's)
Maximum Distance from Sun: 69.8 million km
(43.4 million miles)
Temperature Range on Mercury: -184o C to 427o C
(-300o F to 800o F)
Orbital Semimajor Axis: 0.387 AU (Earth=1 AU) Average Surface Temperature (K): 440K
Minimum Distance from Earth: 77.3 million km
(48.0 million miles)
Satellites: 0

Mercury Image Archive

Comparative Planetary Statistics -- in table form

Comparative Orbital Statistics -- in table form

Actual Distance to Earth

Last modified March 5, 2003 by Randy Russell.

Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!

Our online store includes a wide range of Nature's Own fossil specimens, as well as a mineral and fossil collection perfect for the classroom.

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

You might also be interested in:

Black Ammonite

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Atmosphere of Mercury

Mercury has almost no atmosphere. The planet's small size means that its gravity is too weak to hold down a normal atmosphere. There is a very thin atmosphere around the planet. Mercury's thin atmosphere...more

Mercury's Poles

Most planets are tilted. Their North and South Poles are not straight up and down. Earth is tilted a medium amount. Uranus is tilted a lot. Mercury is hardly tilted at all. It is tilted less than any other...more

The Magnetic Poles of Mercury

Mercury has a magnetic field. Its field is weak. Earth's magnetic field is tilted. So is Mercury's. That means Mercury's magnetic poles are not in the same place as its geographic poles. Mercury has a...more

Magnetosphere of Mercury

Mercury is the only inner planet other than the Earth that has a significant magnetic field (220 nT). This field, along with the planet's high density and small size relative to the Earth, indicates that...more

Shop Windows to the Universe

Ammonites are available in our online store, along with other minerals and fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items.

Generous sponsorship of Windows to the Universe is provided by the Hewlett Foundation, the American Geological Institute, the American Geophysical Union, the National Science Foundation, NASA, NCAR, and the CISM and CMMAP projects. NASA CMMAP AGU CISM NCAR Hewlett AGI NSF