Posted on 01/31/2008 3:31:16 PM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
A whole new side of Mercury has been revealed in pictures taken by NASA's MESSENGER probe, which flew by the tiny planet two weeks ago in the first mission to Mercury in more than three decades.
MESSENGER skimmed only 124 miles (200 kilometers) over Mercury's surface on Jan. 14, in the first of three passes it will make before settling into orbit March 18, 2011.
The photos, released today, include one of a feature the scientists informally call "the spider," which appears to be an impact crater surrounded by more than 50 cracks in the surface radiating from its center.
Scientists are perplexed by this structure, which is unlike anything observed elsewhere in the solar system.
"It's a real mystery, a very unexpected find," said Louise Prockter, an instrument scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which built the probe for the $446 million NASA mission. She said whatever event created the spider "is anybody's guess," but suggested perhaps a volcanic intrusion beneath the planet's surface led to the formation of the troughs.
The last time NASA sent a probe to Mercury was in 1975, when the Mariner 10 spacecraft flew by the planet three times. MESSENGER'S first flyby gave scientists the first glimpses of Mercury's hidden side, the 55 percent of its surface that was left uncharted by Mariner 10.
MESSENGER, short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, also measured another peculiar element of Mercury — its magnetic field. Earth has a magnetic field surrounding it that acts as a protective bubble shielding the surface from cosmic rays and solar storms. But scientists were shocked when Mariner 10 discovered a magnetic field at Mercury, too.
"The only other example in our solar system of an Earth-like magnetosphere is tiny Mercury," said Sean C. Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator from the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
MESSENGER was able to fly through the magnetic field and take detailed measurements that scientists hope to use to discover the origins of the inexplicable magnetosphere.
Scientists have been poring over more than 1,200 new images sent by seven instruments on the probe, and they are excited to gain new insight into the composition of Mercury's surface, the planet's history, and where its atmosphere comes from.
"On the eve of the encounter I couldn't sleep at all," said Robert Strom, a MESSENGER science team member who also worked on the Mariner 10 mission. "I've waited 30 years for this. It didn't disappoint at all. I was astounded at the quality of these images. It dawned on me that this is a whole new planet that we're looking at."
The satellite will further probe Mercury's mysteries in a second pass over the planet in October, followed by a third flyby in September 2009.
The probe has traveled 4.9 billion miles (7.9 billion-kilometers) since it launched in August 2004. On its journey it soared by Earth once and Venus twice, offering gorgeous views of these planets as well. In 2011 MESSENGER will become the first spacecraft to orbit the closest planet to the Sun.
That picture looks totally natural, not sure what the hubub is ...
Oops, I accidentally pasted the article title in place of the source name, but the source link to Space.com does work.
Looks like an “outie” bellybutton to me. Are they sure one of their fat geeks isn’t having fun with the copy machine????
yeah, but it sure will tweak the weak.
There is a huge monster lying just beneath the surface of Mercury, and now it saw our ship and knows we are near.
It will soon begin moving toward earth to feed!
Whoa! Look in the right top corner and you can see a Walmart.
Really astounding pic. I’ve always loved looking at things like this. Do you have the source with anymore of these photos?
Nope, I just linked to the pic at the source link. But nasa.gov probably has more pics.
I thought the spiders were from Mars.
Thanks a lot, I’ll take a look.
Big deal. When they find the giant foot that mashed it, then they’ll have something to brag about.
Are you kidding me? This discovery makes Mercury the first “outie” discovered in the solar system!
He’s come to a sticky end
Don’t think he will ever mend
Never more will he crawl ‘round
He’s embedded in the ground
Boris the spider
Boris the spider
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Ziggy played guitar, jamming good with Wierd and Gilly,
The Spiders from Mars.
He played it left hand, but made it too far,
Became the special man, then we were Ziggy’s Band.
Looks more like a bug on my windshield.
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