Mercury Facts | Facts about Mercuries

Fun facts about venus

Venus is the second closest planet to the sun between Earth and Mercury. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Mercury is the only metal that's liquid at room temperature.

Mercury's symbol, Hg, comes from the Latin "hydrargyrum," meaning "liquid silver."

The phrase "mad as a hatter" is linked to hatmakers who were poisoned by mercury used to make felt.

China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is believed to have died after taking mercury pills he thought would make him immortal.

Mercury thermometers have been phased out because mercury is toxic.

Minamata disease is mercury poisoning named after a Japanese city where industrial waste contaminated fish.

Mercury is named after the planet Mercury and the Roman god.

Mercury is so dense that iron can float on it.

Fluorescent light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury.

Large fish like tuna can contain higher levels of mercury.

Tests of Isaac Newton's hair found high levels of mercury, probably from his alchemy experiments.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, but Venus is hotter.

From sunrise to sunrise, one day on Mercury lasts about 176 Earth days, twice as long as its 88-day year.

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft found water ice in shadowed craters at Mercury's poles.

Mercury is slowly shrinking as its core cools.

Mercury has no moons.

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system.

Mercury's temperatures swing from about 800°F during the day to about −290°F at night.

A transit of Mercury happens when Mercury passes in front of the Sun as seen from Earth.

BepiColombo, a joint European and Japanese mission, is scheduled to enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026.

Mercury's orbit helped confirm Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, and it's even bigger than Mercury.