Mercury (planet) Mercury (planet) Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the Solar System. Its orbital period around the Sun of 87.97 days is the shortest of all the planets in the Solar System. It is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger of the gods. Like Venus, Mercury orbits the Sun within Earth's orbit as an "inferior planet", and never exceeds 28° away from the Sun. When viewed from Earth, this proximity to the Sun means the planet can only be seen near the western or eastern horizon during the early evening or early morning. At this time it
Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet " Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet "is the second in the series of "Mushroom Planet" books by Eleanor Cameron, and was published in 1956, two years after "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet". This children's book is set in a beach community in California, as well as on a tiny, habitable moon, "Basidium", in an invisible orbit 50,000 miles from Earth. The "Mushroom Planet," visited by the protagonists David and Chuck, is covered in various types of mushrooms and is populated by little green people. The story opens with Theo Bass, the cousin of