Mercury is the densest planet in our Solar system apart from Earth, because of its iron core 3600 km in diameter. It has a molten core, a mantle 600-km thick and the Planets crust is made of silicates. The magnetic field is inclined at 11 to its rotational axis and has the same polarity as Earth. This magnetic field is just enough to protect the planet from the full force of the solar wind. Mercury has an albedo of 0.06 and this is because the surface consists of a dark coloured, rough, porous rock that does not reflect much light.
Mercurian climate indicates that there is little chance of life forms developing on the planet.
Due to the small difference between Mercury's orbital period and its rotational period, the interval between night and day to an observer on the planet, would be 88 Earth days. There are a few peculiarities with the planet. Due to the orbital eccentricity the temperature received at perihelion is 2.5 times that of the heat received at the aphelion. To an observer situated on the planets hot pole at aphelion when the sun is rising it will approach the zenith getting larger as it does so, but because the orbital angular velocity is for a time, greater than the constant spin angular velocity, the sun will appears to stop, retreat backward for 8 Earth days, stop again and then resume its original course. Apparent Diameter max.