On its sunny side, Mercury can reach a scorching 800 degrees Fahrenheit! (But Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar system. … On its dark side, Mercury gets very cold because it has almost no atmosphere to hold in heat and keep the surface warm. The temperature can drop down to minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why is Venus the hottest planet and not Mercury?
It is the hottest planet in the solar system. So what makes Venus hotter than Mercury? Mercury doesn’t have any atmosphere, and atmosphere can hold and trap heat. … This thick atmosphere makes the surface of Venus hotter because the heat doesn’t escape back into space.
Why is Mercury the hottest planet?
Mercury’s low mass and proximity to the sun keep it from having anything but the thinnest of atmospheres, and this is the reason it must pass on being the hottest planet. An atmosphere helps to cloak a planet, keeping heat from leaking into space.
Why does Mercury not get pulled into the sun?
The Mercury is trapped by the gravity of the Sun. It is moving, but it does not have the escape velocity to get out of the gravity of the Sun. … Planets are constantly falling on the Sun, but they always fall beyond the curvature of the Sun and so they miss it. They do revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbits.
Which is hottest planet Mercury or Venus?
Mercury sure is hot, but Venus is hotter. Venus imaged by Magellan Image Credit: NASA/JPL Venus is much further from the Sun, orbiting at a distance of more than 108 million kilometers. Average temperature there is a hellish 735 Kelvin, or 462 degrees Celsius – hot enough to melt lead.
Why is Venus called Earth’s sister?
Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called Earth’s “sister planet” because of their similar size, mass, proximity to the Sun, and bulk composition. It is radically different from Earth in other respects.
Is Venus hot or cold?
The average temperature on Venus is 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius). Temperature changes slightly traveling through the atmosphere, growing cooler farther away from the surface. Lead would melt on the surface of the planet, where the temperature is around 872 F (467 C).
Can humans visit Mercury?
No, Mercury has been visited by spacecraft from Earth, but no human has ever gone into orbit around Mercury, let alone stepped on the surface. … However, the temperatures on Mercury are much greater. During the daytime, the surface of Mercury at the equator rises to 700 Kelvin (427 degrees C).
Why is Mars so red?
Well, a lot of rocks on Mars are full of iron, and when they’re exposed to the great outdoors, they ‘oxidize’ and turn reddish – the same way an old bike left out in the yard gets all rusty. When rusty dust from those rocks gets kicked up in the atmosphere, it makes the martian sky look pink.
Who is the hottest planet?
Venus is the exception, as its proximity to the Sun and dense atmosphere make it our solar system’s hottest planet. The average temperatures of planets in our solar system are: Mercury – 800°F (430°C) during the day, -290°F (-180°C) at night. Venus – 880°F (471°C)
What if a planet hit the sun?
If the planet somehow survived and punched its way to the centre of the Sun, then much less energy would be deposited in the convection zone and the effects would be lessened. On longer timescales the Sun would settle back down to the main sequence, with a radius and luminosity only slightly bigger than it was before.
Will Mercury ever fall into the sun?
Mercury, like the other planets, is in a stable orbit around the Sun. … So, Mercury is unlikely to fall into the Sun. In about 6 billion years time, the Sun will run out of Hydrogen fuel in its core.
Is Mercury the hottest planet?
On its sunny side, Mercury can reach a scorching 800 degrees Fahrenheit! (But Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar system. The hottest planet is Venus.) On its dark side, Mercury gets very cold because it has almost no atmosphere to hold in heat and keep the surface warm.
What are the 15 planets?
Planets in Our Solar System
- Mercury. Mercury—the smallest planet in our solar system and closest to the Sun—is only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon. …
- Venus. Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction from most planets. …
- Earth. …
- Mars. …
- Jupiter. …
- Saturn. …
- Uranus. …
- Neptune.
Why is Venus so bright?
How best we see Venus depends on its position relative to Earth and the Sun. … Venus has an albedo of 0.7, which means that it reflects about 70 per cent of the sunlight that falls on it. So, that’s why Venus is shining so brightly at the moment, and it makes for wonderful viewing in the evening sky.
What is the hottest and coldest planet?
Shakeel Anwar
| Name of Planets (Hottest to Coldest) | Mean Temperature (Degree Celsius) |
|---|---|
| 1. Venus | 464 |
| 2. Mercury | 167 |
| 3. Earth | 15 |
| 4. Mars | -65 |