Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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A Closeup View of Hell
October 06, 2008 3:38 PM
Every new picture from Mercury reminds one why Earth is a good place to live. NASA's robotic MESSENGER spacecraft made a close flyby early Monday morning (around 4:40 a.m. EDT), coming within about 125 miles of Mercury's cratered surface.
It's not a nice place, 36 million miles from the Sun. For lack of an insulating atmosphere, the daytime temperature can rise above 800 deg. F., and at night, with heat dissipating into space, it can approach -300. The days are long -- as long as 58 days on Earth. Since Mercury is only about three-eighths as far from the Sun as we are, it whizzes around the Sun in 88 Earth-days, so a day there is nearly as long as a year. (There's more HERE.)
MESSENGER, launched in 2004, made a flyby in January, and won't settle into orbit around the planet until March 2011. It's been sent on a long, looping path around the inner solar system; a longer flight uses a lot less fuel, and needs a smaller, cheaper rocket to launch it. Full details on the mission HERE.
NASA points out that if you lived on Mercury -- not that you'd want to -- you'd be treated to some odd sights. "Due to Mercury's rotation and highly elliptical orbit, the Sun appears to rise briefly, set, and rise again before it travels westward across the sky. At sunset, the Sun appears to set, rise again briefly, and then set again."
Some of MESSENGER's most striking images so far are HERE, and if they spot any nice lagoons or stands of aspen trees, we'll let you know.
October 6, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (22)
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I thought a picture of the McCain presidency would be in order
Posted by: Thinking | Oct 6, 2008 4:35:44 PM
wow - it's almost like looking into the future!
Posted by: dave | Oct 6, 2008 4:46:42 PM
Strange, but does look like the earth's moon. It looks so empty and unappealing.
Posted by: Kline | Oct 6, 2008 5:00:52 PM
It seems those pesky Republicans are at it again. Not only are they responsible for the bad weather here on earth because they single-handedly caused global warming, but they must have caused global warming across the galaxy too, .... just by existing. Imagine the God like powers these people must have
Posted by: marco | Oct 6, 2008 5:04:00 PM
Seems like a nice planet for the bribed Bailout Congress.
Posted by: Mike van Tryke | Oct 6, 2008 6:04:09 PM
the velocity that mercury is traveling around the sun is approximately 170,000 miles/hour. The earth travels at around 67,000 miles per hour.
Mercury also represents the day of Wednesday (in spanish, it's Miercoles).
Saturn = Saturday
Sun = Sunday, etcetera.
Mercury, part of the Greek Gods, is so close to the sun, it's no wonder one can cook when being on the sunny side of the planet.
Posted by: lavampire | Oct 6, 2008 6:26:02 PM
... And i can see Mercury from my House!
Posted by: Matt.G | Oct 6, 2008 6:43:20 PM
"Since Mercury is only about three-eighths as far from the Sun as we are, it whizzes around the Sun in 88 Earth-days, so a day there is nearly as long as a year." Do you suppose they start their political cam'pains' 24 years ahead of their general election?
Posted by: LongT | Oct 6, 2008 7:56:37 PM
Golly Gee....You Betcha!.....wink...wink...hope Putin doesn't rear his head over Mercury. LOL
Posted by: seansatx | Oct 6, 2008 8:31:44 PM
"Since Mercury is only about three-eighths as far from the Sun as we are, it whizzes around the Sun in 88 Earth-days, so a day there is nearly as long as a year."
The reason a Mercurian day is so long
is a function of its telatively slow rate of rotation around its own internal axis.
It rotates once every 59 Earth days and revolves around the Sun once every 88 Earth days, making it's day 2/3 as long as its year.
The most extreme example of this in our Solar System is Venus, where a "day" or rotation, is actually longer than a "year" or orbit around Sol.
Posted by: guamaniac96915 | Oct 6, 2008 8:37:16 PM
well,its very funny when i see this news" HOTTER THAN HELL(MARCURY)"....I mean, how the reporter know its hotter than hell,has he been to hell? very funny!!!....I think the user comment should be for fun and interesting idea,,,i took the fun side...
Posted by: rakib | Oct 6, 2008 8:57:12 PM
Looking at this scientifically, the temperature is close too, if not equal, to the temperature of Hell. According to the Bible, Hell consists of boiling sulfur/brimstone (with a bp of 444.6° C/832.3 °F), giving it that temperature when liquid/gas equilibrium is reached.
Posted by: Casey | Oct 6, 2008 10:28:46 PM
The gates of Heaven and Hell are adjacent and unmarked.
Posted by: Cosmologist 25+ years | Oct 7, 2008 12:54:49 AM
If we laid all of Congress there in a circle, would we be able to see them from Earth?
Posted by: jcos | Oct 7, 2008 1:46:05 AM
Casey, but that's assuming that the atmospheric pressure of Hell is the same as here on earth. Hell could be cooler or hotter than 832 degrees.
These comments have been fun to read. You know the country is in a bind when nearly half the comments on an astronomy blog have to do with Congress or Presidential campaigns.
Posted by: itsjustme | Oct 7, 2008 6:04:45 AM
Note from Ned Potter--
Thanks to all. You made me laugh. Rakib, I have not been to hell...but occasional assignments have felt awfully close.
Posted by: Ned Potter | Oct 7, 2008 12:54:44 PM
Ned
If you die on Mercury and go to hell they send you to Venus.
Posted by: Quietman | Oct 7, 2008 1:02:57 PM
i think that the story is too long.Could you not just summerise plz sum of us dont have a year to read it all lol jkjkjkjkjkj
Posted by: chloe | Oct 7, 2008 1:25:49 PM
When Obama becomes President with a Democratic controlled House and Senate Mercury will be the picture of the parking lots at shopping centers in the US. All the privite sector workers money will be sucked out of their pockets to pay for the government sector workers. Such is life in a Socialist Economy when the privite sector workers equeal the government sector workers.
Posted by: Bambi | Oct 8, 2008 11:43:44 AM
It's what the Earth will look like after an Obama presidency.
Posted by: frank_1rios | Oct 8, 2008 4:57:46 PM
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