MessageToEagle.com -
On March 17, MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space Environment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) completed its one-year primary mission, orbiting Mercury,
capturing nearly 100,000 images, and recording data that reveals new information about the planet's core, topography, and the mysterious radar
bright material in the permanently shadowed areas near the poles.
The findings are presented in two papers published online in Science Express.
"Mercury is the last unexplored planet," said UC Santa Barbara physics professor emeritus Stanton Peale, who devised the procedure used for
detecting whether or not Mercury had a liquid core. The way Mercury was formed, he said, may show some constraints on the formation of the solar system.
For one thing, Mercury's core is larger than expected almost 85 percent of the planetary radius.
The Earth's core, in contrast, is just over half of the planet's radius.
Additionally, Mercury appears to have a more complex core than Earth's a solid iron sulfide layer that is now part of the mantle,
which encases a liquid core, which may float on a solid inner core.
The scientists, led by MIT researchers David E. Smith and Maria T. Zuber, also found that Mercury's solid outer core and liquid inner
core contain more iron than Earth, relative to the whole planet, which influences the way Mercury's magnetic field was generated.
However, Peale noted that the surface is comprised of lighter elements.
"We didn't expect so much sulfur," he said, adding that there was almost no iron found on the surface of the planet.
With no iron, the volcanic surface rocks are too light to have come from a mantle with the large average density
derived for the internal structure. This led to the concept of a two-layer mantle with a light upper silicate layer,
which could provide the low-density surface material over a dense iron sulfide layer.
In the larger picture, the presence of inordinately large amounts of sulfur on the surface indicates that Mercury's
formation was not as orderly as some scientists had previously assumed, according to Peale. "Mercury is composed of
material that had condensed over a wide range from the Sun," he said.
The double image at the top of the post shows Mercurys true colors on the left, and an exaggerated false-color image on the right taken
using 11 different color filters. The video was made the same way. Bringing out the color this way can help geologists make guesses about the
age and composition of the terrain. Credit: NASA
Other findings include a precise topographic model of the planet's northern hemisphere, which reveals a smaller spread in elevations compared to
those of Mars or the Moon.
Additionally, radar-bright features at the poles located in areas of permanent shadow have been found to be consistent with a water-ice
hypothesis; however the notion has yet to be tested further with MESSENGER's neutron spectrometer.
MESSENGER is already on the next phase of its investigations: an extended year-long mission that includes more comprehensive and more
targeted measurements.
Follow MessageToEagle.com for the latest news on Facebook
and Twitter !
Recommend this article:
Astrophysicist Resolves Paradox With Radio Millisecond Pulsars
Celestial objects known as pulsars are still full of secrets. It is takes time and many efforts to learn all their secrets. Previous studies reached
the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are even older than the universe itself. It was time to resolve this paradox.
20,000-Solar-Mass Black Hole Found At The Core Of A Now-Destroyed Dwarf Galaxy
The formation of stellar-mass black holes through the collapse of massive stars is well accepted. However,
it is not yet completely clear how the supermassive objects are formed.
They may form through the merger of smaller, intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) weighing hundreds to thousands of suns.
The "Cloaked" Star Was Difficult To Find
An object obscured by dust, and buried in a two-star system enshrouded by dense gas, is not easy to find.
A "cloaked" star was discovered after it ate a little of its neighbor. The meal must have given the star a bit of indigestion, because it
"burped" with a blast of high-energy radiation, which gave it away.
First Evidence - Bizarre Superfluid Matter Found At Neutron Star Core
Many mysteries regarding neutron stars have to be solved and one of such mysteries has just been revealed, the first direct evidence for
this bizarre state of matter in the core of a neutron star.
Neutron stars contain the densest known matter that is directly observable. One teaspoon of neutron star material weighs six billion tons.
Invader From Another Galaxy
This alien intruder from another galaxy is in many ways different from other exoplanets observed by astronomers.
Located about 2000 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Fornax (the Furnace), the Jupiter-like planet orbits a dying star of
extragalactic origin and risks to be engulfed by it.
Cradle Of Life Molecules Discovered In Interstellar Space
The quest for the origin of life continues. Scientists have now discovered and
identified complex organic molecules in interstellar space. This finding could shed more light on the origin of life...
Near-Miss Asteroid 2012 DA14 Returns Next Year
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
When it whizzes past Earth in 2013, a newly discovered asteroid is going to miss our planet but not by much.
The 50 m space rock is expected to come closer than many satellites, highlighting the growing need to keep watch on hazards from above.
MessageToEagle.com -
On March 17, MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space Environment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) completed its one-year primary mission, orbiting Mercury,
capturing nearly 100,000 images, and recording data that reveals new information about the planet's core, topography, and the mysterious radar
bright material in the permanently shadowed areas near the poles.
The formation of stellar-mass black holes through the collapse of massive stars is well accepted. However,
it is not yet completely clear how the supermassive objects are formed.
An object obscured by dust, and buried in a two-star system enshrouded by dense gas, is not easy to find.
Many mysteries regarding neutron stars have to be solved and one of such mysteries has just been revealed, the first direct evidence for
this bizarre state of matter in the core of a neutron star.
Neutron stars contain the densest known matter that is directly observable. One teaspoon of neutron star material weighs six billion tons.
This alien intruder from another galaxy is in many ways different from other exoplanets observed by astronomers.
The quest for the origin of life continues. Scientists have now discovered and
identified complex organic molecules in interstellar space. This finding could shed more light on the origin of life...
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
