Key Stage 3

As part of our investigation into whether there could be life on other planets in our solar system, we looked at each individual planet. This is what Ben found out about Mercury.

Mercury is the first planet in our solar system.

Mercury’s orbit close to the sun means that it has the greatest variation between day and night temperature of any planet in the solar system.

During the day the surface temperature can reach 450c (840f). However, the lack of atmosphere on the planet means that heat can not be retained at night, and the temperature can drop by over 600c(1,100f). Parts of mercury become so cold that some scientists believe there is ice on the planet, which means there is water.

One day on mercury is equal 1,408 earth hours

Even though there may be water on Mercury, I concluded that the temperatures are too extreme for life to exist on Mercury.