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Messenger Sends First Full Fly-By Image of Mercury

Posted by timothy on from the most-strained-backformation-name-ever dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from Gizmodo: "NASA's Messenger (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging spacecraft) has flown by just 125 miles over the surface of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System. This is the first time in history that the whole planet is going to be photographed in its entirety by an Earthling probe, with amazing resolution and ultra-crisp detail." The picture at the top of the linked story is fantastic, too.

2 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. RAEG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    >>the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System.

    Anyone else rage?

  2. Highly Reflective Craters by Sibko · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Something I noticed immediately in the picture, was that the craters are a lot more reflective than what I typically see on, for instance, the moon. Certainly a lot more reflective than the rest of Mercury's surface.

    Anyone have any idea why?