Why does Mercury's temperature range from 400 degress Celsius to -180 degrees Celsius?

Answer 1

because its close to the sun! Actually, the answer is a bit more complex. Mercury's temperature gets so hot (up to 427 ºC) because it is closer to the Sun than Earth, but also because there is very little atmosphere to insulate Mercury's surface from the Sun's radiation (heat traveling through empty space). Therefore the side of Mercury facing the sun gets very hot.

You can understand radiation a little better if you think about how you can still feel the heat of direct sunlight on a day when the air is cold. The Sun's heat energy can travel through space without significantly heating up the sparse molecules of air it's traveling though. But why does Mercury's surface also get very cold? To understand this we need to go back to the concept of insulation. An insulator traps heat energy because heat does not pass easily through an insulator. Think of thick blanket on a cold day. The blanket doesn't make your feet warm, but it keeps the heat energy from your body from escaping. As your body warms up the blanket, your feet stop being cold. Insulators can also keep heat out. A planet's atmosphere is the layer of gasses that surrounds it. When you feel the wind, see a cloud, or take a deep breath of air-that's our atmosphere! The atmosphere acts like an insulator. When the Sun is beating down the air warms up a little, reflects away a little of the sun's heat, but also allows some of the sun's heat to hit the surface of our planet. Because the atmosphere reflects away some of the Sun's energy, the Earth does not get too hot during the day. But the atmosphere also traps some of the Sun's energy keeping the Earth warmer at night. Some of the heat that the land, roads and buildings absorbed during daylight hours is reflected back onto Earth by the atmosphere acting like a blanket. Because Mercury does not have a think atmosphere blanket to keep it warm at night, the side of Mercury facing away from the sun can get very, very cold. (-183 ºC)

So next time you're really hot on a sunny Summer day, or really cold on a blustery Winter evening, think about how extremely cold and hot Mercury can get and remember to thank our atmosphere for keeping the temperatures on Earth closer to pleasant.

Answer 2

Temperatures vary so greatly because there is no atmosphere, because Mercury's surface gravity is so weak, gasses can easily escape into space.

Because it has no atmosphere, heat energy from hot locales cannot be moved to colder locales. Therefore, the side facing the sun will be very hot (to the touch) and very cold on the side away from the sun. In addition, because Mercury does not have an atmosphere to contain the heat or cold, the temperatures on Mercury fluctuate severely during the night and day.

Answer 3

Temperature Range on Mercury:-184o C to 427o C

(-300o F to 800o F)

Answer 4

-184o C to 427o C (-300o F to 800o F)