A year on Mercury lasts about 88 Earth days. This means Mercury completes one full orbit around the Sun in approximately 88 Earth days, which is the shortest year of any planet in the Solar System
. To clarify:
- Mercury's sidereal year (orbital period) is about 88 Earth days.
- Mercury's sidereal day (rotation period relative to the stars) is about 58.65 Earth days.
- Because of Mercury's unique spin-orbit resonance (it rotates three times on its axis for every two orbits around the Sun), one full solar day (sunrise to sunrise) on Mercury actually lasts about 176 Earth days, which is twice as long as its year
In summary, a Mercurian year is roughly 88 Earth days long.
