Smallest and most cratered planet of the solar system
A brutish place of hellish days and freezing nights
Visit the smallest* and fastest** planet in our solar system. You'll be very close to the Sun, so you'll need very strong eye protection!
During the daytime, it can get as hot as 430°C (800°F). There won't be an atmosphere to retain the heat, so at night, it might even get as cold as -180°C (-290°F).
Mercury also does not experience seasons since it spins mostly upright (it has a tilted axis of just 2 degrees!)
Better start your journey when the Mercury gets closer to Earth, it might get as close as 77 million kilometers (48 million miles). But if you miss it, its distance to Earth might be 222 million kilometers (138 million miles) away.
With no moons and no rings, it may look like Mercury does not have much to offer, but there are so many impact craters you can explore on its grayish brown surface! Take a look!
*slightly larger than our Moon.
**travels at almost 47 kilometers (29 miles) per second.
What is a journey to Mercury without visiting its most popular impact basin?
The large circular orange area in this false-color image shows the Caloris impact basin, one of the largest impact basins in the solar system. With a diameter larger than 1525 kilometers (950 miles), it is a sight to see.
There is a lot to explore in Caloris.
Near the center, check out the Pantheon Fossae, what once called "the Spider." Reminiscent of the domed roof of the Pantheon in Rome, the radial troughs are a sight you don't want to miss.
The radial troughs of Pantheon Fossae surround the crater Apollodorus, so don't forget to take a closer look.
While in Caloris, go northwest, and see the popular trio of craters named after Edward Munch, August Sander, and Edgar Allan Poe.
As you leave the Caloris basin, take a look at the rim: the ring of mountainous peaks is worth to see.
The second-largest impact basin after Caloris, Rembrandt is also one of the youngest impact basins in Mercury.
One of the most interesting sights you don't want to miss is the Rachmaninoff impact basin. Spanning 290 kilometers (180 miles) in diameter, this double-ring basin is a sight you can't miss. Goes best with listening to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as you approach it.
Another sight we would recommend is the Raditladi basin. See the concentric troughs, impact melt ponds and more.
Another impact basin you can't miss is the one named after the writer Leo Tolstoy. It is about 350 kilometers (220 miles) in diameter, looking beautiful. While its interior is mostly smooth plains, the exterior is largely Low Reflectivity Material.
Named after Dr. Seuss, with hollows and impact melts on its floor, this relatively young and playful-looking crater is definitely an interesting sight.
With bright hollows at its center, the beautiful sight of Eminescu crater (125 kilometers (78 miles) is diameter) another one you can't miss.
Don't leave without seeing the Carnegie Rupes that cut through the Duccio crater. It is a large tectonic landform, formed as a response to interior planetary cooling.
