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Mercury 'painted black' by passing comets
bbc ^
Posted on 03/30/2015 4:18:47 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Mercury reflects very little light but its surface is low in iron, which rules out the presence of iron nanoparticles, the most likely "darkening agent".
First, researchers modelled how much carbon-rich material could have been dropped on Mercury by passing comets.
Then they fired projectiles at a sugar-coated basalt rock to confirm the darkening effect of carbon.
Their results, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, support the idea that Mercury was "painted black" by cometary dust over billions of years.
The effect of being intermittently blasted with tiny, carbon-rich "micrometeorites", the team says, is more than enough to account for the mysterious, dull surface seen on Mercury.
"It's long been hypothesised that there's a mystery darkening agent that's contributing to Mercury's low reflectance," said Dr Megan Bruck Syal from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the paper's first author.
"One thing that hadn't been considered was that Mercury gets dumped on by a lot of material derived from comets."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; catastrophism; electricuniverse; mercury; mercuryintransit; micrometeorites; science; xplanets
1
posted on
03/30/2015 4:18:47 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
2
posted on
03/30/2015 4:19:25 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: BenLurkin
That's racist!!!
3
posted on
03/30/2015 4:19:41 PM PDT
by
Ken522
(r)
To: BenLurkin
“I wanna see the sun... blotted out from the sky.”
4
posted on
03/30/2015 4:19:58 PM PDT
by
Steely Tom
(Vote GOP for A Slower Handbasket)
To: BenLurkin
The Before and after.
5
posted on
03/30/2015 4:20:21 PM PDT
by
VanDeKoik
To: BenLurkin
Paint It BlackBeat me to it.
"The planet Mercury, I want it painted black;
The closest to the sun, I want it to be black..."
6
posted on
03/30/2015 4:20:44 PM PDT
by
chajin
("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
To: Ken522
7
posted on
03/30/2015 4:21:09 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: VanDeKoik
8
posted on
03/30/2015 4:23:45 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
9
posted on
03/30/2015 4:38:53 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!)
To: BenLurkin; 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; ...
10
posted on
03/30/2015 4:39:05 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(What do we want? REGIME CHANGE! When do we want it? NOW!)
To: chajin; Steely Tom
11
posted on
03/30/2015 4:47:22 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: BenLurkin
12
posted on
03/30/2015 4:48:08 PM PDT
by
JPG
(The GOPe will always find a way to surrender)
To: JPG
I know I want my baby back.
13
posted on
03/30/2015 4:50:54 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: SunkenCiv
14
posted on
03/30/2015 4:52:12 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
To: JPG
15
posted on
03/30/2015 4:56:01 PM PDT
by
BenLurkin
(The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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