Mercury images- Similar to our Moon

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Mercury images- Similar to our Moon

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Venus Mercury 2-8-07
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I. Mercury
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• A. 0.4 AU from sun

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• A.U.
• Astronomical unit
• 93,000,000 miles
• This is the distance of Earth from Sun so we
  compare all planets to our distance.

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• 2. close to sun in sky
• a) morning or evening star
• ( not a star but looks like one. )

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• b) poor photos
• Earths atmosphere distorts image

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Earth View
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• B. Rotation
• 1. once in 59 Earth days
• (siderial period)

Siderial means with respect to stars.
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• C. Revolution
• 1. once in 88 Earth days

Time to go once around the Sun.
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• D. Length of day
• (solar rotation)
• 1. 176 Earth days
• This is a strange effect. Look at the diagrams
  and I will explain it when I return.

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• 2. One Mercury day 2 Mercury years

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• 3. Determine motion by RADAR
• Radio detection and ranging

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• E. Temperature
• 800 o F
• -280 o F

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• F. Albedo
• 1. Light reflected
• Light received

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• 2. Mirror albedo is 90
• Black is 0
• Mercury is 6

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• 3. Dark, like moon

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• G. Mass
• 1. 5.5 of Earth

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• H. Density
• 1. same as Earth
• 2. must have iron core

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• I. Spacecraft Observations
• 1. unmanned

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• 2. Mariner 10
• a) 3 flybys
• b) 1974

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3. Messenger Mission Left Earth August
2004 Arrived at Mercury in 2011 Still There
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• 4. Photographs
• a) craters
• flatter than moon

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• Why?
• greater gravity
• softer surface
• eroded

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• b) maria
• c) scarps
• cliffs hundreds of miles long

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• Scarps are wrinkles....
• Cracks in the crust

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scarp
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scarp
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scarp
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scarp
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4-22-13
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• d) Weird Terrain
• Grooved areas with smooth area in between

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weirdterrain
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weirdterrain
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weirdterrain
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(No Transcript)
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• Cause?
• 180o from large crater

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• recombined shock waves from meteorite impact
  created Weird Terrain

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• 5. Atmosphere
• a) small
• b) sodium, helium

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• c) coming from craters?

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• 6. Magnetic field
• a) yes

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• 6. No moons
• 7. origin very different from moon

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I. Mercury

• A. 0.4 AU from sun

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Views from Messenger at Mercury

Spider Crater
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Views from Messenger at Mercury
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Views from Messenger at Mercury