NASA Probe Reveals Unprecedented Details About Mercury [PHOTOS]
[quote]New close-up images and data provided by NASA's MESSENGER -- MErcury Surface, Spacé ENvironment, GEochemístry and Ranging -- spacecraft have revealed an unforeseen class of landforms on the planet closest to the sun.
The hígh-resolution images have revealed the first close-up views of Mercury's "hollows," the first direct measurements of the chemical composition of the planet's surface and the first global inventory of plasma ions within its space environment. The analysis of the new data has also shown that flood volcanism has been extensive on the planet, a NASA report said.
"We have viewed the polar regíons clearly for the first time, we have built up global coverage with our images and other data sets, we are mapping the elemental composition of Mercury's surface, we are conducting a continuous inventory of the planet's neutral and ionized exosphere, and we are sorting out the geometry of Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere," said MESSENGERs' principal investigator, Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Read more @ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/222544/ ... -plain.htm
[quote]New close-up images and data provided by NASA's MESSENGER -- MErcury Surface, Spacé ENvironment, GEochemístry and Ranging -- spacecraft have revealed an unforeseen class of landforms on the planet closest to the sun.
The hígh-resolution images have revealed the first close-up views of Mercury's "hollows," the first direct measurements of the chemical composition of the planet's surface and the first global inventory of plasma ions within its space environment. The analysis of the new data has also shown that flood volcanism has been extensive on the planet, a NASA report said.
"We have viewed the polar regíons clearly for the first time, we have built up global coverage with our images and other data sets, we are mapping the elemental composition of Mercury's surface, we are conducting a continuous inventory of the planet's neutral and ionized exosphere, and we are sorting out the geometry of Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere," said MESSENGERs' principal investigator, Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
Read more @ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/222544/ ... -plain.htm
