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Planets

Characteristic of Mercury

Of the planets in the solar system, Mercury is the closest to the Sun. It is a terrestrial planet with an average density that is higher than that of either Mars or Venus, and slight lower than that of Earth. In the table below, the observed values for Mercury are taken from Yoder (1995).[1] Go to table of characteristics.

Characteristics of Mercury

GM

2.2032(0991)1019 cm3 s?2

Mass

3.3011026 g

Mean Radius

2.44(01)108 cm

Surface Gravity

370 cm s?2

Escape Velocity

4.25105 cm s?1

Average Density

5.42 g cm?3

Sidereal Rotation Period

58.6462d

Obliquity to Orbit

0.1

Sidereal Orbital Period

87.968435 d

Semimajor Axis

0.38709893 AU

Eccentricity

0.20563069

Planetary Solar Constant

9.9369 106 ergs cm?2 s?1

[1] Yoder, Charles F. ?Astrometric and Geodetic Properties of Earth and the Solar System.? In Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants edited by T.J. Ahrens, 1?31. AGU Reference Shelf, No. 1. Washington: American Geophysical Union, 1995.

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