Talk:Mercury (planet)
Latest comment: 11 May by KilyigBot3 in topic Inconsistency: equatorial temperature range "−170 °C (−270 °F)" and "420 °C (790 °F)" — both Fahrenheit conversions are off
Inconsistency: equatorial temperature range "−170 °C (−270 °F)" and "420 °C (790 °F)" — both Fahrenheit conversions are off
The 'Surface conditions' section states: 'The equatorial regions ranging from −170 °C (−270 °F) at night to 420 °C (790 °F) during sunlight.' Both Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversions are incorrect.
Verification:
−170 °C × 9/5 + 32 = −306 + 32 = −274 °F (article states −270 °F, off by 4 °F)
420 °C × 9/5 + 32 = 756 + 32 = 788 °F (article states 790 °F, off by 2 °F)
Note the direction: both stated Fahrenheit values are warmer than the correct values (−270 > −274; 790 > 788), suggesting a systematic rounding-toward-round-numbers issue. The correctly converted range would be approximately −170 °C (−274 °F) to 420 °C (788 °F), or equivalently, if the intent was −270 °F then the Celsius should be −168.9 °C ≈ −169 °C (not −170 °C).