| Orbital characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Orbital period | 44 Terran days
|
| Days passed per year | 7.007 days per year |
| Aphelion Perihilion |
30,348,400 km 16,229,390 km |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Rotation period | 132.08 hours |
| Mean diameter | 4,170 km |
| Temperature Min. Main Max. |
584 K 277 K 800 K |
| Atmospheric pressure | .09 atmospheres |
| Other | |
| Inhabitants Density |
0 (as of 2009) 3.05e23 kg |
| Countries | non-existent (according to UN) |
Vulcan is a scorched planet in the Sol system.
Physical characteristics[]
Vulcan has little iron on the surface, though there is much, much more in the huge core. The thin mantle and crust are mainly silicates and rock. The planet supports no volcanic or tectonic activity. There is no continents, as there is no water or any other substance that wold create continents.
There is some gravity on Vulcan, about 80% of Mercury's gravity, due to being a little smaller and being slightly less dense.
The deepest crater is 138 meters deep and the tallest mountain is 41 meters high, with many different landforms.
Orbital characteristics[]
Since Vulcan is the closest planet to the Sun, it has a rather elliptical orbit, even more elliptical than Mercury. This, along with many other characteristics, makes Vulcan an even more extreme place to visit, and even space probes and space telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope have a hard time photographing it. It is hard to see in the night sky though you can see the dot on the horizon in between the Sun and Mercury and the sun sets. At other times Vulcan sets before you can see it, like at its perihelion when scheduled to be seen.
Climate[]
Vulcan is a scorching planet which has an average temperature of about 600 K due to the extreme temperatures. It has a very weak magnetic field (about 25% the strength as Mercury's) and still maintains a thin atmosphere, somehow slightly thicker than Mercury's. It is impossible to live on this planet, and though many people would like to visit, only 0.03 of people on Earth would like to live there.
Atmospheric characteristics[]
Vulcan is mostly a very sparse atmosphere of Hydrogen, Helium, and Argon. Even with a very weak magnetic field and weak gravity, Vulcan cannot hold onto many particles. Vulcan's atmosphere, like Mercury, is constantly being replenished, though it is thicker somehow, perhaps because Vulcan gets more particles than it loses for some reason. After atmospheric wind graphs were taken, it was discovered that a flurry of new particles are always leaving and coming to Vulcan, and it is around at 0.009 atmospheric pressure most of the time. Like Mercury, Vulcan has a sodium tail though it is shorter than Mercury's.
Lithospheric characteristics[]
Vulcan has a huge iron and nickel core, rivaling Mercury's core. Though not as large, Vulcan is like Mercury is many ways. Its mantle is molten silicate rock, and has a crust like Mercury's. Though there is much less craters, because Vulcan is closer to the Sun and is shielded from the larger of asteroids, Vulcan still has a few. This is because most asteroids that pass Vulcan's orbit are torn apart by the Sun's gravity, and even the ones that do hit Vulcan are usually small.
Geological characteristics[]
Though Vulcan does not have very many interesting spots on its surface, it still have one. There is a group of craters in its southern hemisphere that create some strange lines. Also, Vulcan has no active volcanoes. There is a crater than 138 meters deep (The deepest spot at Vulcan), and this is a place that will be undergoing studying in the next decade. It is named Megriss Crater.
Projects[]
Only one project that includes Vulcan exists. ESA and NASA are thinking about sending a very heat-resistant probe to actually land on Vulcan and study its surface and atmosphere. It is planned to check if there is plate tectonics, which is very unlikely, and further study the lithosphere and atmosphere of Vulcan.