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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Unusual Hollows Discovered on Planet Mercury
NASA ^
| March 27, 2012
| (see photo credit)
Posted on 03/27/2012 4:33:25 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: What are those unusual features on planet Mercury? The slightly bluish tinge of features dubbed hollows has been exaggerated on the above image by the robotic MESSENGER spacecraft currently orbiting Mercury. The rounded depressions appear different than impact craters and nothing like them has been noted on Earth's Moon or anywhere else in the Solar System. The above image is a section of the floor of Raditladi impact basin about 40 kilometers wide that includes the mountains of the central peak. One progenitor hypothesis is that the hollows formed from the sublimation of material exposed and heated during the violent impact that created the Raditladi basin. NASA's MESSENEGER is the first space spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury, and is currently scheduled to explore the Solar System's innermost planet into 2013.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; catastrophism; mercury; science
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1
posted on
03/27/2012 4:33:28 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
To: 75thOVI; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; Avoiding_Sulla; ...
2
posted on
03/27/2012 4:34:26 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him)
To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; married21; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; ...
3
posted on
03/27/2012 4:35:20 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him)
To: SunkenCiv
I live in Florida, and it gets HOT here.
But I understand that Mercury is MUCH worse.
To: SunkenCiv
Ummmm...The Ghostly Hollows.....Harry Potter Goes to Mercury.
5
posted on
03/27/2012 4:39:15 AM PDT
by
count-your-change
(You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
To: SunkenCiv
Sand Worm nests.
6
posted on
03/27/2012 4:50:37 AM PDT
by
Happy Rain
("Rick or Mitt then Obama, take your pick.")
To: SunkenCiv
Concentrate on those Blueish looking places long enough, and you begin to ‘see things’.
7
posted on
03/27/2012 5:07:18 AM PDT
by
KoRn
(Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
To: left that other site
True,but its a dry heat,,,,,
8
posted on
03/27/2012 5:15:01 AM PDT
by
Craftmore
To: SunkenCiv
Surface temperatures reach 427°C.(about 800°F) Stinking hot.
9
posted on
03/27/2012 5:31:03 AM PDT
by
Phlap
(REDNECK@LIBARTS.EDU)
To: SunkenCiv
Alien mining pits?
10
posted on
03/27/2012 5:32:47 AM PDT
by
BitWielder1
(Corporate Profits are better than Government Waste)
To: SunkenCiv
Kind of looks like solder splatter when you clean a soldering iron tip by shaking it towards the floor..........Just saying.
11
posted on
03/27/2012 5:43:31 AM PDT
by
The Cajun
(Palin, Free Republic, Mark Levin, Newt......Nuff said.)
To: SunkenCiv
I liked the sublimation theory before I even read it...
12
posted on
03/27/2012 5:46:08 AM PDT
by
henkster
To: SunkenCiv
Looks like an EDM micrograph.
13
posted on
03/27/2012 6:03:31 AM PDT
by
Paine in the Neck
(Romney's judicial appointments were more radical than Obama's)
To: SunkenCiv
It resembles corrosive pitting, as if heavy flake rust was removed with a wire wheel.
14
posted on
03/27/2012 6:25:40 AM PDT
by
Spirochete
(Sic transit gloria mundi)
To: SunkenCiv
To: SunkenCiv
Any hidden stills tucked away in them hollows?
16
posted on
03/27/2012 7:04:59 AM PDT
by
Oratam
To: Oratam
Dems pernounced “hollers”, son.
To: SunkenCiv
Moderator! Moderator! SunkenCiv is posting dirty space word photos again!
18
posted on
03/27/2012 8:03:35 AM PDT
by
blueunicorn6
("A crack shot and a good dancer")
To: SunkenCiv
If anyone had to live that close to the Sun, they’d have some weird looking things on them, too. I’d cut Mecury some slack.
19
posted on
03/27/2012 8:15:50 AM PDT
by
NCC-1701
(In Memphis on January 20, 2009, pump price were $1.49. We all know what happened after that.)
To: fieldmarshaldj
I recollect that from a long-ago reading of Chuck Yeager’s autobiography. Thank you for the correction.
20
posted on
03/27/2012 9:10:22 AM PDT
by
Oratam
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