Hello Steemians!
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Today I am writing about Mercury, the first of the inner planets and also the closest one to the Sun.
http://puu.sh/sSArc/446b74c231.jpg
*Source: http://www.newtonsapple.org.uk/mercury-the-weird-planet/*
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Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System, with a diameter of ~4,800 km, and it orbits the Sun in only 88 days!
http://puu.sh/sSAyo/a1699a2384.jpg
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One day on Mercury is an equivalent of about 59 days on Earth.
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Because of this rocky body like Earth, it is categorized as a terrestrial planet.

The wast majority of Mercury is it's core, which has a radius of 1,800 km, followed by the mantle of 600 km thick and the crust which is about 200 km thick.

Mercury's core is believed to be molten, consisting mostly of metallic materials
http://puu.sh/sSAKq/3ce4375605.jpg
*Picture show's the core, mantle and crust of Mercury*
Source: http://www.space.com/27013-strange-mercury-facts-photos.html*
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It's surface appears similar to the one of the Moon, with allot of craters, meaning that it was probably inactive for billions of years.
http://puu.sh/sSAXk/4de90709fc.jpg
*The landscape of Mercury, by NASA
Source: http://history.nasa.gov/EP-177/ch2-2-2.html*
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The temperatures on Mercury range from −173 °C at night to 427 °C during the day.
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Mercury can sometimes be seen from the earth, when its vertically above the Sun and when the sky is completely dark.
It is easier to see it from lower altitudes and from somewhere high .
http://puu.sh/sSAGL/142e40b9ab.jpg
*a photo of Mercury by the MESSENGER's primary mission*
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Hope this short lesson about Mercury was interesting!

Follow and support me on the @Steemizen project and stay tuned for more!
https://img1.steemit.com/0x0/http://puu.sh/sHpZJ/4318e65e14.png