Planets and Moons  ID: 11544

Discover Mercury

Story by Matt Davenport Released on June 17, 2014
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Explore views of the planet closest to the sun.
The solar system’s smallest planet may look like Earth’s moon, but don’t mistake Mercury for another familiar face. Before 2008, fewer than half of the planet’s surface features had ever been seen by humans. Now, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft has imaged over 90 percent of the planet to help paint a complete picture of its geologic past. Like the moon, scores of craters pock Mercury’s exterior. But unlike the moon, gigantic scarps, or cliffs, climb thousands of feet above its terrain. Such features are the result of the planet’s crust shrinking during a period of cooling after its formation. As scientists piece together its history, they hope to ultimately learn about the processes that forged Mercury over four billion years ago. Watch the video to see close-up views of the surface taken from orbit.
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The Narrow-angle camera aboard the MESSENGER spacecraft captured these images of Mercury.
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Scarps can run for hundreds of miles across Mercury, whose diameter has shrunk by several miles since it formed.
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Scientists have plenty of features to study. Hundreds of craters (green) and hills (yellow) dot this image alone.
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Mercury is both hot and cold. Its surface can reach temperatures of 800°F during the day and -290°F at night.

Story Credits

Lead Writer:
Matt Davenport (USRA)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Video and images courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11544

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons