Mercury means:
In astronomy mythology, Mercury was the Roman
version of the god Hermes. He was the messenger for the
other gods, and for this reason Mercury is often depicted in
pictures with winged sandals. In addition to delivering
messages, he was also the protector of travelers, and
merchants.
How much would you weigh on
Mercury?
If you moved to Mercury you would not weigh as much as you
do on Earth. Not because you would lose weight on the space
ship, but because Mercury is smaller, and so has less
gravity. If you weigh 70 pounds on Earth, you would weigh
only about 27 pounds on Mercury.
The Planet:
Mercury is a world of extremes. Because it is so close to
the Sun a visitor could easily cook to death. However
because mercury spins so slowly it gets very cold in the
night time, which means a visitor could also freeze to
death.
We are just starting to understand this world. It looks a
lot like our moon, because it has craters and basins.
Scientists used to think it acted like the Moon, but we are
now learning that Mercury is in fact very different. In
2004 NASA plans to send a orbiting probe to the planet to
learn more about it.
Moons:
Mercury Has no moons.
