Artwork representing the planet Mercury with the Sun in the background. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and its distance ranges between 45.9 and 69.7 million kilometers. The orbital period of the planet around the Sun is about 88 Earth-days whereas Mercury's day lasts roughly 59 Earth-days. The surface presents a massively cratered face which resembles the far side of our satellite the Moon. Due to its close vicinity to the Sun and the lack of atmosphere, temperatures are extreme ranging from 350 Celsius during the day to -170 at night.