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 | Hey Tom, Why are Mercury's temperature so much different then Earth's? And Why is Mercury so dense? | |
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| Well Becky Mercury gets so hot because its closer to the sun then Earth. It gets so cold because Mercury has no atmosphere so the side facing away from the sun can get very cold. Mercury's temperature can range from 400 degrees celsius to -180 degrees celsius. And Mercury is so dense because the core is metal-rich and contributes to 60% of the planet's total mass. | |
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| What is the history of Mercury and its surface? | |
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| Mercury's surface is covered in craters, most likely created during the evolution o the sun, by meteorites that hit the surface. Smooth plains between craters suggests that at one point the surface was probably volcanic, as lava flows filled in after the impacts of large objects. There are a lot of ridges probally caused by the inside of the planet cooling down and shrinking causing the suface to collapse. | |
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