Question

Why is mercury very hot during the day and very cold at night ?

Answer 1

Mercury has a very thin atmosphere and also its proximity to the Sun are the two governing factors.

During the day , sunlight strikes the surface of Mercury. But due to its very thin atmosphere no heat (excess sunlight) can be reflected. So during daytime, the surface of the planet Mercury becomes too hot. The temperature rises more than 400 ° C

Now let's come to night time.

Our Earth has a thick atmosphere that traps enough sunlight during the day to keep the surface warm during night.

But Mercury has thin atmosphere.So it doesn't trap any sunlight during the day at all. During night all the sunlight gets reflected and so the surface becomes too cold. The temperature deeps as low as below - 170°C.

Hope This Helps you!

Answer 2

Mercury is very hot during the day (about 400 °C). Its gravitational force is not strong enough to hold an

atmosphere. Due to the absence of an atmosphere, the heat is quickly lost at night, and it becomes freezing cold

(about - 200 °C).