Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It is also a very hostile planet compared to Earth. During the day temperatures reach 700 deg F. During the night it will dip to a chilly 300 deg F. Mercury is made up of iron, which could come in handy if we can find a way to mine it. Mercury is also pockmarked much like the moon and scientists think Mercury is shrinking slightly every year. The average day lasts 56 Earth days and it takes 88 days to complete a year (go around the Sun). The only spacecraft to explore Mercury close-up was Mariner 10 which executed three flybys of Mercury in 1974 and 1975, surveying approximately 45 percent of its surface.
Mercury was the son of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Maia, a minor goddess. Mercury was the messenger of the gods and the god of roads and travel in Roman mythology. The Romans considered Mercury rather crafty and deceptive, and even a trickster or thief. Criminals regarded him as their protector. Mercury resembled the god Hermes in Greek mythology. Mercury delivered his messages with miraculous speed because he wore winged sandals. He also wore a broad-brimmed hat and carried a winged staff. Mercury's staff had snakes curled around it to protect him in his travels. In ancient times, most messengers wore a hat similar to Mercury's. Messengers also carried a staff to identify themselves so they could travel freely. Mercury later became associated with magic and science, and his staff has come to symbolize medicine. Mercury is a zodiac planet playing important role in european and chinese astrologies.
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