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| - History of location is unknown.
- Mercury is similar in appearance to the Moon: it is heavily cratered with regions of smooth plains, has no natural satellites and no substantial atmosphere. Recorded observations of Mercury date back to at least the first millennium BC. Before the 4th century BC, Greek astronomers believed the planet to be two separate objects: one visible only at sunrise, which they called Apollo; the other visible only at sunset, which they called Hermes. The English name for the planet comes from the Romans, who named it after the Roman god of trade and commerce, Mercury.
- Mercury (Sol I) was a planet, the first planet orbiting Sol in the Sol star system. A class F/class B geomorteus planet, Mercury orbits Sol on an 88-day cycle. A small, rocky body, the surface temperatures on the side facing the sun become quite high due to the close location to the central star. The proximity to Sol is so close as to preclude any semblance of a lifeform-supporting planetary atmosphere. (Last Unicorn RPG module: Planets of the UFP)
- Mercury (also known as Sol I) was the first planet of the Sol system.
- At one point, Mercury was used as a waste dump, but its orbit was accidentally destabilized and it plunged into the sun. (PROSE: To the Slaughter) The Eighth Doctor once claimed that Mercury had "very little atmosphere" after dumping a vampire on the planet. (AUDIO: Situation Vacant) When asked about her holiday experiences, Donna Noble listed Mercury among the locations which she had visited. (COMIC: The Widow's Curse) File:PlanetStub.png
- Comparatively little is known about Mercury; ground-based telescopes reveal only an illuminated crescent with limited detail. The first of two spacecraft to visit the planet was Mariner 10, which mapped only about 45% of the planet’s surface from 1974 to 1975. The second is the MESSENGER spacecraft, which mapped another 30% during its flyby of January 14, 2008. MESSENGER will make one more pass by Mercury in 2009, followed by orbital insertion in 2011, and will then survey and map the entire planet.
- It gets really hot (430°C, or hotter then an oven) during the 3 month long "day" and −180°C during the equally long "night". This is caused by its lack of any real thick atmosphere, so nothing to keep in heat. (Mercury Rotates on its axis in 58.6 days. This is 2/3 of its revolution period and is an example of a tidal lock or resonance. After two revolutions or three rotations, the same face of Mercury faces the Sun. (176 days) [1]
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