Mercury is the planet that is closest to the Sun and also the smallest planet in the Solar System. Until recently, the smallest planet was considered to be Pluto, but now scientist changed their minds and have decided Pluto is not a planet and so the title has shifted back to Mercury. Mercury measures 4,879 km along its equator, Earth is 12,742 km across, so Mercury is only 38% the diameter of Earth. In terms of volume, Mercury has only 0.05 the volume of the Earth, meaning you could fit 20 Mercury’s inside Earth’s crust with room to spare.
What is the smallest planet in our solar system?
Mercury is the planet that is closest to the Sun and also the smallest planet in the Solar System. Until recently, the smallest planet was considered to be Pluto, but now scientist changed their minds and have decided Pluto is not a planet and so the title has shifted back to Mercury. Mercury measures 4,879 km along its equator, Earth is 12,742 km across, so Mercury is only 38% the diameter of Earth. In terms of volume, Mercury has only 0.05 the volume of the Earth, meaning you could fit 20 Mercury’s inside Earth’s crust with room to spare.