Mercury - An Iron World That Resembles the Moon
Origin & Age
Earth is 4.6 billion years old; Mercury formed at the same time, about 4.6 billion years ago. A giant impact likely stripped away much of its rocky mantle, leaving an iron-dominated planet that looks like the Moon on the surface but is very different inside.
Mercury Specs
| Item | Value | Versus Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Age | ~4.6 billion years | Same |
| Diameter | 4,879 km | ~0.38× Earth |
| Mass | 0.055 Earth masses | — |
| Gravity | 0.38 g | ~1/3 Earth |
| Surface temperature | Day +430°C / Night −180°C | Extreme swings |
| Atmosphere | Extremely thin (Na, K, O trace gases) | Not breathable |
| Can humans move bare-skinned? | No (vacuum & heat/cold fatal) | Impossible |
| With spacesuit? | Nearly impossible (extreme thermal stress) | — |
Main Rocks on Mercury
| Rock | Key traits | Exists on Earth? | Uses (material) | Major sources (Earth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | Volcanic lava plains; Fe-rich, dark; evidence of past volcanism | Yes, abundant | Aggregates, road base, rock wool | Japan (Fuji, Aso), Hawaii, Iceland |
| Silicate minerals (pyroxene, olivine) | Mantle-derived, heat-resistant | Yes, common | Gemstones (peridot), refractory material | Volcanic belts worldwide |
| Metallic iron & iron sulfides | Core-rich composition; surface enriched in iron | Yes (Earth’s ore deposits) | Steel production, alloys | China, Brazil, Australia, Japan |
Environment & Human Activity
Mercury faces extreme conditions: blistering days at +430°C, freezing nights at −180°C, and no protective atmosphere. Bare-skin activity is fatal, and even with spacesuits, survival is nearly impossible. NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft orbited Mercury and revealed its geology, but human settlement is unrealistic.
Contrast with Earth
Mercury is dominated by iron, with basalt plains but no granite continents. Earth, by contrast, used water and plate tectonics to create granite-rich crust, enabling civilization to flourish.
Summary
- Origin: 4.6 billion years ago; stripped mantle left an iron-rich core
- Composition: basalt plains, silicates, iron; no granite
- Environment: bare-skin no / spacesuit nearly impossible
- Granite never formed due to lack of water and tectonics
Mercury cannot produce the granite products sold by japanstones.shop.