More 'hollowed ground' on Mercury
Thursday, January 5, 2012 - 10:30
in Astronomy & Space
The latest featured image from NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft, soon to complete its first year in orbit around Mercury, shows the central peak of the 78-mile (138-km) wide crater Eminescu surrounded by more of those brightly-colored surface features dubbed hollows. Actually tinted a light blue color, hollows may be signs of an erosion process unique to Mercury because of its composition and close proximity to the Sun.