Mercury from Passing BepiColombo
Explanation:
Which part of the Moon is this?
No part -- because this is the
planet Mercury.
Mercury's
old surface is heavily
cratered like that of
Earth's Moon.
Mercury, while only slightly larger than
Luna, is much denser and more massive than any
Solar System
moon because it is made mostly of
iron.
In fact, our Earth is the only planet more dense.
Because Mercury rotates exactly three times for every two orbits around the Sun,
and because Mercury's orbit is so
elliptical,
visitors on Mercury
could see the Sun rise,
stop in the sky, go back toward the rising horizon,
stop again, and then set quickly over the other horizon.
From Earth,
Mercury's proximity to the Sun causes it
to be
visible only for a short time just
after sunset or just
before sunrise.
The featured image was captured last week by
ESA and
JAXA's passing
BepiColombo spacecraft as it
sheds energy and
prepares to orbit the innermost planet starting in 2025.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
