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Mercury is a very barren, harsh world. It is the closest planet to the sun, only 57,000,000 miles. It has a diameter of 4878 miles. The heat of the sun has vaporised Mercury's atmosphere, leaving its surface of rocks and minerals to be constantly wracked by the suns heat. Mercury cannot contain life because it is far too hot. Mercury can only be seen in any detail with a large (6"+) telescope. Mercury is the second smallest planet, only after pluto. The surface of Mercury is covered in cracks, because volcanic activity went on there many thousands of years ago. No spacecraft has yet landed on Mercury. The Mariner 10 probe is the craft which has gotten the closest to the planet. The fastest probe, the Helios B Solar Probe (156,000 mph) also passes fairly close to the planet. Mercury has no moons. Mercury's surface is also heavily cratered, due to many meteor impacts. The Caloris Basin is the largest single landmark on Mercury's suface: it is a crater that is around 800 miles in diameter. |
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