Mercury #16 is a photograph by Nasa which was uploaded on March 7th, 2013.
Mercury #16
On January 14, 2008, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to see the unseen side of Mercury shown in this image. This image, taken by the Wide Angle... more
by Nasa
Title
Mercury #16
Artist
Nasa
Medium
Photograph
Description
On January 14, 2008, MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to see the unseen side of Mercury shown in this image. This image, taken by the Wide Angle Camera, (WAC), of the Mercury Dual Imaging System, (MDIS), shows a closer view of much of that territory. Just above and to the left of center of this image is a small crater with a pronounced set of bright rays extending across Mercury's surface away from the crater. Bright rays are commonly made in a crater-forming explosion when an asteroid strikes the surface of an airless body like the Moon or Mercury. But rays fade with time as tiny meteoroids and particles from the solar wind strike the surface and darken the rays. The prominence of these rays implies that the small crater at the center of the ray pattern formed comparatively recently.
Uploaded
March 7th, 2013
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