Name: ______________________________________
Mercury By Cynthia Sherwood
Mercury is made
M
ercury is the planet nearest the
sun. It’s so close that if you were up of rock with iron
standing on Mercury, the sun at its core. Its surface looks a lot like
would appear two and a half times bigger our moon, with many craters. Radar
than what it looks like from here on Earth. images from Earth show that craters at
Mercury’s north and south poles may
Even the best sunscreen wouldn’t be
contain frozen water, or ice. Scientists
enough on Mercury. The sun’s rays are
couldn’t believe it at first. Parts of
about seven times stronger than on Earth.
Mercury reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit
Mercury is dry, very hot, and practically
(427 degrees Celsius), so they definitely
airless. Mercury is also the smallest planet
didn’t expect to find ice! But it turns out
in our solar system. Because it’s often
the poles of Mercury are always in the
blocked by the glare of the sun, Mercury
shade of the sun, so they remain
can be hard to see without a telescope.
extremely cold.
Mercury is named after a Roman
By the way, you’d never be able to
god who was a messenger known for
enjoy a blue sky on Mercury. Because
his speed. As a planet, Mercury moves
there’s no atmosphere, the sky always
around the sun faster than any other. It
appears black. You might even see
revolves around the sun about once every
stars—during the daytime!
88 Earth days.
Did you know …
Even though Mercury is the closest
planet to the sun, it is not the hottest
planet! Mercury
Venus, the second planet from the sun,
has hotter temperatures than Mercury.
This is because Venus has a thick layer of Venus
clouds that trap in heat like a blanket.
Earth
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Name: ______________________________________
Mercury By Cynthia Sherwood
1. Why is Mercury usually hard to see without a telescope?
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2. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, but Venus is the hottest. Why?
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3. Mercury was named after the Roman god of speed. Why is this an appropriate name
for the planet?
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4. How is it possible for Mercury to have frozen ice?
a. Mercury is a cold planet.
b. Mercury has a different type of ice that can form in warm temperatures.
c. Parts of Mercury are cold because they always face away from the sun.
d. Mercury has ice because it moves so quickly around the sun.
5. What does the underlined word mean in the sentence below?
Because there’s no atmosphere, the sky always appears black.
a. layer of air or gas b. living things
c. soil or craters d. volcano activity
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