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Why does Mercury have the greatest range of temperatures?
Because Mercury has very little tilt relative to its orbital motion, its seasons are based on the eccentricity of its orbit. In summer, when it is at its closest approach to the sun, the daytime temperature can reach 465 degrees Celsius (870 degrees Fahrenheit).
Why does Venus have temperatures that reach higher than on Mercury?
The reason Venus is hotter than even Mercury is not because of its position in the solar system but because of its thick, dense cloud layer. Venus is the planet most similar to the Earth in terms of size and mass, but its atmosphere causes huge differences in the temperatures of the two planets.
Why does Mercury have such extreme temperatures relative to those on earth?
Why might Mercury have such extreme temperatures relative to those on Earth? Mercury has no true atmosphere and is the closest planet to the Sun. These two factors combine to generate the extreme temperatures measured on the surface of the planet. Other than Earth, Mars is probably the best studied planet.
Which planet can get the coldest?
The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus has the coldest atmosphere of any of the planets in the solar system, even though it is not the most distant. Despite the fact that its equator faces away from the sun, the temperature distribution on Uranus is much like other planets, with a warmer equator and cooler poles.
What’s the average temperature on the day side of mercury?
The day side of the planet reaches temperatures of up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius). In contrast, the chilly night side can get as cold as minus 290 F (minus 180 C). The planet has an average temperature of 332 F (167 C). These variations are relatively long-lived.
Why does Mercury have the least eccentric orbit?
However, Mercury has the least circular, most eccentric orbit of all the planets. The huge range in its distance from the sun means that the planet does feel some variation in temperature based on where it travels over the course of its 88 Earth-day year. How Big is Mercury?
Why does Mercury pass on being 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. Without an atmosphere, Mercury loses a great deal of heat into space,…
Why is Mercury the closest planet to the Sun?
But on Mercury, the planet has essentially no tilt, which means that the hemispheres experience no significant difference in temperature from one another. That allows Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, to hang onto ice at its surface. Parts of the poles never see sunlight, leading scientists to hypothesize that ice could survive on the world.