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Mercury (Planet): Solar System
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Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, meaning that like the Earth it is a rocky body. It is the smallest of the four, with a diameter of 4879km at its equator. Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. The density of the planet is the second-highest in the solar system at 5.43 g/cm³, only slightly less than Earth's density. When corrected for gravitational compression, Mercury is in fact denser than Earth, with an uncompressed density of 5.3 g/cm³ versus Earth's 4.4 g/cm³.
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Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, being a rocky body like the Earth. It is the smallest of the four, with a diameter of 4879 km at its equator. Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. The density of the planet is the second highest in the solar system at 5.43 g/cm³, only slightly less than Earth’s density. If the effect of gravitational compression were to be factored out, the materials of which Mercury is made would be denser, with an uncompressed density of 5.3 g/cm³ versus Earth’s 4.4 g/cm³.[6]
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Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, being a rocky body like the Earth. It is the smallest of the four, with a diameter of 4879km at its equator. Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. The density of the planet is the second highest in the solar system at 5.43g/cm³, only slightly less than Earth’s density. If the effect of gravitational compression were to be factored out, the materials of which Mercury is made would be denser, with an uncompressed density of 5.3g/cm³ versus Earth’s 4.4g/cm³.
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Mercury is the second smallest planet in the solar system, larger only than previously measured planets, such as Pluto. Mercury is the second densest planet after Earth, with a large iron core having a radius of 1,100 to 1,200 miles (1,800 to 1,900 kilometers), about 75 percent of the planet's radius. Mercury's outer shell, comparable to Earth's outer shell (called the mantle), is only 300 to 400 miles (500 to 600 kilometers) thick. Mercury's magnetic field is thought to be a miniature version of Earth's, but scientists are uncertain of the strength of the field.
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Mercury's internal structure is unique in the solar system. The planet's mean density is 5.44 g/cm3 (5.44 times that of water), which is larger than that of any other planet or satellite except Earth (5.52 g/cm3). Because of Earth's large internal pressures... its uncompressed density is only 4.4 g/cm3 compared to Mercury's uncompressed density of 5.3 g/cm3. This means that Mercury contains a much larger fraction of iron than any other planet or satellite in the solar system. The iron core must be about 75% of the planet diameter, or 42% of Mercury's volume. It is surrounded by a silicate mantle and crust only about 370 mi (600 km) thick.
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Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, meaning that like the Earth it is a rocky body. It is the smallest of the four, with a diameter of 4879 km at its equator, and it consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. The density of the planet is the second-highest in the solar system at 5430 kg/m³, only slightly less than Earth's density.
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