时间:2025-07-11 08:21:06 来源:网络整理编辑:探索
Want to take a hike on Mercury?On Friday -- about one year after the Messenger spacecraft ended its
Want to take a hike on Mercury?
On Friday -- about one year after the Messenger spacecraft ended its mission by crashing into Mercury -- scientists released the first complete global elevation map produced by the long-lived spacecraft.
The new map, which looks somewhat like a map a hiker would use, shows the highest and lowest points on the planet, with its highest point coming in at 4.48 kilometers above the average elevation on the planet, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), said in a statement.
SEE ALSO:NASA Mercury mission comes to a 'dramatic end'The planet's lowest point is 5.38 km below the average in the Rachmaninoff basin.
In all, it took more than 100,000 images collected by Messenger to create the map, the APL said.
In total, however, Messenger beamed back about 300,000 images of Mercury in its time circling the planet closest to the sun.
“The wealth of these data ... has already enabled and will continue to enable exciting scientific discoveries about Mercury for decades to come,” Susan Ensor, a software engineer at the APL said in the statement.
Scientists also produced a map of a part of Mercury near the north pole as never seen before.
Messenger "had previously discovered that past volcanic activity buried this portion of the planet beneath extensive lavas, more than a mile deep in some areas and covering a vast area equivalent to approximately 60% of the continental United States,” said APL’s Nancy Chabo.
Messenger (which is of course an acronym short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) launched toward Mercury in 2004 and began orbiting the planet in 2011.
Scientists using Messenger data already created the first full map of Mercury, which showed never-before-seen features on the small planet like volcanic vents around the Caloris basin, the world's magnetic field and a giant iron core.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys2025-07-11 08:16
How to avoid malware disguised as tax forms2025-07-11 07:32
Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for May 302025-07-11 07:13
I tried the revived KFC Double Down and lived to tell the tale2025-07-11 07:11
You will love/hate Cards Against Humanity's new fortune cookies2025-07-11 07:10
Stunning James Webb Space Telescope photo shows bending of spacetime2025-07-11 07:10
'Yellowjackets' Season 2: What does episode 2's ending mean for Coach Ben?2025-07-11 06:18
Amazon Prime could include cell service someday2025-07-11 06:15
More than half of women in advertising have faced sexual harassment, report says2025-07-11 05:48
Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for May 302025-07-11 05:45
Old lady swatting at a cat ends up in Photoshop battle2025-07-11 08:16
Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for June 72025-07-11 07:51
Nearly 25,000 Twitter users pay to subscribe to Elon Musk's exclusive tweets2025-07-11 07:47
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for May 302025-07-11 07:24
The U.S. will no longer have the final say on internet domain names2025-07-11 07:19
Scientists detect building block for life on Saturn's moon Enceladus2025-07-11 07:18
Memes are the latest love language, Hinge says2025-07-11 06:29
'Godfather of AI' has quit Google to warn people of AI risks2025-07-11 06:21
Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape2025-07-11 06:02
The plan to build a telescope the size of Washington, D.C., on the moon2025-07-11 05:56