Reporter 2: Mercury and Venus

The solar system is a vast collection of celestial objects bound together by the Sun’s gravity. The solar system
formed around 4.6 billion years ago from a giant cloud of gas and dust, which collapsed under gravity to form the Sun and
other celestial bodies.
Planet came from the Greek word planēt, means “wanderer. Planets is any of the large bodies that revolve around
the Sun in the solar system. The planets in the solar system are divided into two groups: Terrestrial/ Inner planets
(Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) and Jovian/Outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune).

MERCURY: THE MYSTERIOUS AND EXTREME PLANET

 Mercury is named after the Roman messenger god Mercurius, who was the god of commerce and communication. It is
the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System. Its small size and proximity to the Sun make it a
unique and extreme world.

1. Physical Characteristics:
 Size: Diameter of 4,880 km (3,032 miles)—just slightly larger than Earth’s Moon.
 Mass and Density: a mass of 3.3011×10²³ kg, or about 5.5% as massive as Earth. Density is 5.427 g/cm³, making it
the second densest planet in the Solar System after Earth.
 Surface Gravity: The surface gravity on Mercury is 3.7 m/s², which is about 38% of Earth's gravity.

2. Orbital and Rotational Characteristics

 Orbit- shortest orbit in the Solar System, at an average distance of about 36 million miles (58 million kilometers)
from the sun. Completing one revolution around the Sun in just 88 Earth days. Mercury’s orbit is highly elliptical,
meaning its distance from the Sun varies significantly.
 Rotation:
The planet exhibits a 3:2 spin–orbit resonance, rotating three times on its axis for every two orbits around the Sun.
This results in sunrise to sunrise cycle lasting about 176 Earth days because of slow rotation combined with its
fast orbit
One mercury day- 176 earth days One Mercury Year- 88 earth day

3. Surface Features:
Appearance- Mercury’s surface is heavily cratered, similar to the Moon surface, due to billions of years of asteroid and
meteoroid impacts, like from the following:
 Caloris Basin: A massive impact crater spanning 1,550 km (960 miles) in diameter.
 Obate scarps- large, curved cliffs that formed as Mercury's crust bunched up due to mercury's interior cooled,
the planet shrank. The shrinking crust was pushed together, breaking and thrusting upward
along fault lines.
 Geology- Mercury has a solid, rocky crust and is not tectonically active.

4. Temperature and Atmosphere:

 Daytime: Temperatures soar to 430°C (800°F) due to its proximity to the Sun.
 Nighttime: Without an atmosphere to retain heat, temperatures plummet to -180°C (-290°F). The planet with
greatest temperature variations. That create a Polar Ice- it is within permanently shadowed craters
near the poles, where sunlight never reaches, and be cold enough for ice to exist over long periods
of time.
 Lacks a thick atmosphere, but it has a thin exosphere made up of hydrogen, helium, sodium, and potassium. This
exosphere is constantly replaced by particles from the Sun and micrometeoroid impacts. It provides no
protection from meteoroids or solar radiation.
  No weather occurs on this planet

6. Magnetic Field and Interior structure:

 Weak magnetic field, about 1% as strong as Earth’s, its core is still partially liquid.
 Mercury have core, mantle and rust. Mercury has a disproportionately 85% of its radius is metallic core. Scientists
believe the core is partially molten, which helps generate its weak magnetic field. Mercury’s rocky mantle and
thin crust are small compared to its core.

8. Exploration:
 Mariner 10 (1974–75): First spacecraft to visit Mercury, capturing about 45% of its surface. It provided first close-up
images of Mercury.
 MESSENGER (2011–2015): Mapped the entire surface and studied its composition, geology and magnetic field.
 BepiColombo (launched in 2018): joint mission by the ESA and JAXA, currently en route to Mercury for further
exploration.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MERCURY AND VENUS

1. Both Are Terrestrial (Rocky) Planets- Both Mercury and Venus are terrestrial planets, meaning they have a solid,
rocky surface.

2. Both Are No Moons: Neither planet has any natural satellites (moons), unlike Earth or Mars.

4. Extreme Surface Environments- Both planets are inhospitable to life as we know it due to their extreme environments.

5. No Liquid Water: Neither planet has liquid water on its surface.

 Mercury: Any water present in a form of ice in permanently shadowed craters near its poles.
 Venus: Its surface is too hot for liquid water, and any water vapor that might have existed has likely lost to
space due to runaway greenhouse effect.

8. No Active Plate Tectonics- Venus shows evidence of volcanic activity and periodic resurfacing, while Mercury’s
surface shows evidence of shrinking as its core cools.

VENUS: EARTH’S TWIN

Venus was named after the beautiful Roman goddess (counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite) due to its bright, shining
appearance in the sky. The second planet from the Sun and often called Earth’s twin because of its similar size, mass, and
composition.

1.Physical Characteristics:
  Size: Diameter of 12,104 km (7,521 miles), about 95% of Earth’s diameter. Sixth largest planet from the sun.
 Mass and Density: Its mass is approximately 4.87×10²⁴ kilograms or about 81.5% of Earth’s mass. The planet's
density is 5.24 g/cm³, slightly less than Earth's 5.52 g/cm³
 Surface Gravity: surface gravity on Mercury is 3.7 m/s², which is about 38% of Earth's gravity.

2. Orbital and Rotational Characteristics

 Orbit- its distance from the sun is 108.2 million km (67.2 million miles) and takes 243 Earth days to complete
one revolution around the Sun.
 Rotation:
 It’s an extremely slow rotation, taking 243 Earth days to spin because a solar day on Venus lasts 117
Earth days—the slowest of any planet. One rotation on the sun last 225 Earth days, making its day
longer than its year.
 It also rotates in the opposite direction to most planets (retrograde rotation) it rotates backward. The Sun
Rises in the West and Sets in the East.

3. Surface Features
 Appearance- covered by thick clouds of sulfuric acid, which hide its rocky surface.
 Two highland areas: Ishtar Terra in northern hemisphere and Aphrodite Terra near the equator, it seen
through Topography- a Radar mapping.
 Volcanic Plains: The planet is covered in vast lava plains mountain ranges, and large volcanic domes, evidence
of past volcanic activity, liike:
 Maat Mons- planet's tallest volcano and second-highest mountain. It's located in Atla Regio. With
8 kilometers (5 miles) tall. It is named after the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice,
Ma'at.
 Craters: Few craters exist due to planet's relatively young surface, estimated to be 300–500 million years
old.

4. Temperature and Pressure

 Temperature: Venus is the hottest planet, with surface temperatures averaging 465°C (869°F). This dense
atmosphere leads to a strong greenhouse effect, resulting in surface temperatures hot
enough to melt lead.
 Pressure: The surface pressure is about 95 times greater than Earth’s, equivalent to being 900 meters
underwater. equivalent to the pressure found at a depth of about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in Earth's oceans.

5. Atmosphere- Venus’s atmosphere is most massive atmosphere among the terrestrial planets, primarily carbon dioxide
(96.5%) and about 3.5% molecular nitrogen. Trace amounts of other gases, including carbon monoxide,
sulfur dioxide, water vapor, argon, and helium, are also present. That causes the following events:
 Toxic Clouds- Thick clouds of sulfuric acid cover the planet, reflecting sunlight and making it the second
brightest object in the night sky after the Moon.
 Weather- Winds in the upper atmosphere blow at speeds of 360 km/h (224 mph). while the surface is relatively
calm. Venus experiences acid rain due to sulfuric acid clouds, but this rain evaporates before reaching
the surface.

6. Magnetic Field and Interior Structure:

 Venus has a similar interior structure to Earth, with an iron core similar in size to Earth’s, rocky mantle, and its
crust is mostly basalt.
 Venus has no global magnetic field, likely due to its slow rotation and lack of plate tectonics.
7. Exploration:
 Venera Missions (USSR 1970): first successful landing on Venus, provided first images of Venus’s surface & data
on its atmosphere.
 Magellan (NASA, 1990–1994): Used radar to map 98% of Venus’s surface.
 Akatsuki (Japan, 2015–present): Studying Venus’s atmosphere and weather patterns.