There’s ice and organic material on Mercury, says NASA. Data from the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting the planet confirms that impact craters in its polar regions (pictured above) are home to not just vast amounts of frozen water, but black patches of dark organic material. Initial evidence for water ice on the planet dates back twenty years, and was reinforced with initial findings from MESSENGER last year. But skepticism was laid to rest this week thanks to data from the probe's laser altimeter and neutron spectrometer, which measure the reflectance and hydrogen-richness of targets on the planet’s surface. The findings were published online in three papers for Science Express .
Compared to rock, ice is shiny and high in hydrogen,...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708526/ice-organic-mercury-messenger
No comments:
Post a Comment