Mercury-the closest planet to the Sun (Temperature, facts, moons, satellites)|Technospace

 Mercury is the closest planet to the sun in our solar system. It revolves faster arpund the sun than other planets. Due to its closeness, Mercury is blasted by the Sun's rays. It has only a very small atmosphere.

The surface temperature of Mercury is characterised by major fluctuations. The daytime side of the planet reaches over 400°C, but on the night side, the temperature falls to -170°C. The only visit to Mercury was made by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. It is also known as Budh. Mercury is much smaller than the Sun. It is occasionally visible just before the sunrise or immediately after sunset. Hence, it is also known as the morning star or evening star. It takes only 88 earth days to go once around the sun. A day on Mercury equals nearly 59 earth days. The Mercury Year is thus only 1.5 times its day.