A few more pictures are back from Mercury, closing out a week of considerable excitement in planetary-exploration circles. The few that we've posted here (and that NASA has posted) are just a small fraction of more than 1200 images that are now being studied by researchers.
This first photo (right) was taken during the MESSENGER probe's approach to the planet on Monday, from a distance of about 11,000 miles, or about 55 minutes before the craft's closest approach to the planet.
The surface here is covered with impact craters, some with peaks of material at their center. The largest crater, at lower right, was also seen in less detail by the Mariner 10 mission. About 120 miles in diameter, it was named Sholem Aleichem after the Yiddish writer.
The shadowed area at bottom right marks the boundary between the planet's day and night regions. Another photo is shown after the jump.
This second image (below), taken shortly after MESSENGER's closest approach, is already helping researchers understand the sequence of geological events on the planet.
The large double-ringed crater on the lower left here is filled with a smooth plains material, which scientists believe may be volcanic in origin. A cliff, apparently signs of an underground fault, runs along the northeast rim of the crater, and cuts the smaller crater at bottom right in two. This shows the fault was apparently active after the two craters were formed, researchers say.
The region in this second photo is about 300 miles across, and was also taken at a distance of about 11,000 miles.
MESSENGER Reveals Mercury’s Geological History [NASA/Johns Hopkins]
(Photo Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington)
