How Long Does Mercury Take to Orbit the Sun?

By Staff WriterLast Updated December 11, 2023

It takes 88 Earth days for Mercury to make a complete orbit around the Sun. At a distance of 36 million miles from the Sun, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. A terrestrial planet, it has a rocky surface.

Mercury has no rings or moons. The planet also does not have an atmosphere, but it does have an exosphere consisting mainly of oxygen, sodium, helium and potassium. Temperatures on the planet vary between 430 degrees Celsius during the day to -180 degrees Celsius at night. One day on Mercury is equivalent to 59 Earth days.

The first spacecraft to visit Mercury was Mariner 10 in the early 1970s. There is no life on Mercury.