Comparison of Mercury and Earth
Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system, is much smaller than Earth,
but the material it is made of is much more dense on average. The table below
gives a comparison of characteristics of Mercury relative to Earth values.
| Characteristic |
Relative to Earth
(Earth = 1) |
Absolute Value |
| Mass |
0.0553 |
3.303 x 10**26 g |
| Radius |
0.382 |
2,439 km |
| Mean Density |
----- |
5.43 g/cm**3 |
| Rotation Period |
58.65 Earth days |
----- |
Mean Orbital
Distance |
0.3871 AU |
57.91 x 10**6 km |
| Orbital Period |
87.9 Earth days |
----- |
Mean Orbital
Velocity |
1.6 |
47.89 km/s
(112,000 mi/hr) |
| Orbital eccentricity |
----- |
0.2056 |
Inclination to
ecliptic (degrees) |
----- |
7.004 |
| Temperature range |
----- |
-360F (-183C) to
840F (450C) |
Definitions of planetary characteristics
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