Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun. It orbits the Sun in 88 Earth days and rotates on its axis every 58.6 Earth days, which is 3 rotations for every two orbits (called "3:2 resonance"). It can be seen from Earth only at sunrise and sunset.
Mercury is one of the five brightest planets.

As with the other planets of the solar system, it was named after a Roman mythological figure, in this case the messenger god Mercury who is known as Hermes in Greek. 
