Exit 3D

Fun Facts About Mercury, the Smallest Planet in 3D

Loading the 3D scene…

Polar craters with iceIce where the Sun never shinesCrustThin, rocky and crateredMantleRocky layer under the crustIron coreAbout 85% of the radiusCaloris Basin1,550 km wide impact craterCrater raysBright streaks of crushed rockCliffs (scarps)Up to a mile highCutaway view. Thin outer layers drawn thicker; moons not to scale.1234567

Mercury at a glance

If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mercury would be about as big as a blueberry.

Order from the Sun
1st of 8
Type
Rocky planet
Distance from the Sun
57.9 million km (0.39 AU)
Diameter
4,879 km (0.38× Earth)
Length of day
176 Earth days
Length of year
88 Earth days
Moons
0
Rings
No
Average temperature
167 °C (333 °F)
Gravity
38% of Earth's
Axis tilt
almost 0°
Sunlight takes
3.2 minutes

On Mercury you would weigh about 30 (38% of your Earth weight). Your mass stays the same; only gravity changes.

Source: NASA Planetary Fact Sheet and NASA Science.

Mercury facts quiz

8 questions about Mercury