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Mercury
The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is only a bit larger than Earth's moon. Its day side is scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450 Celsius), but on the night side, temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to absorb meteor impacts, so its surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Over its four-year mission, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed views of the planet that have challenged astronomers' expectations.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye
Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods
Diameter: 3,031 miles (4,878 km)
Orbit: 88 Earth days
Day: 58.6 Earth days
Related:
More Mercury Facts
Mercury Pictures
NASA Solar System Exploration: Mercury
Venus' southern hemisphere, as seen in the ultraviolet.
Venus' southern hemisphere, as seen in the ultraviolet.

Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the Solar System. Its orbital period around the Sun of 87.97 days is the shortest of all the planets in the Solar System. It is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger of the gods. View on Maps: google.com/maps/space/mercury

Distance from Sun: 57.91 million km
Orbital period: 88 days
Radius: 2,440 km
Length of day: 58d 15h 30m
Did you know: It flew past the planet three times, then went into orbit around it in 2011.