NASA Mercury Photos: Never-Before-Seen Images From Spacecraft MESSENGER

A U.S. spacecraft beamed hundreds of photos of Mercury back to Earth on Tuesday after a close encounter with the planet closest to the sun.

The images show scientists never-before-seen landscapes on the planet's surface.

Four of the high-resolution images were made public at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, posted by NASA on its MESSENGER Web site. Taken during a three-hour span before and after the spacecraft's closest approach to Mercury, the photos offer detailed new glimpses of the barren planet.

Keep reading here.

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Check out these photos of Mercury below. (from NASA)

Comments

[MagisterLudi]

I don't think the human race has a moral obligation to learn about space, but it would be foolish and short sighted not to do so. It may hold the key to our survival."
Stephen Hawking

[SpottyBush]

Desolate and barren, yet beautiful ... much like Sarah Palin!

[All in All]

Beautiful ! (Smile).

Kind of looks like the Our Moon, but smoother (if I can say that).

Beautiful.

[BryantG]

Obama for space exploration:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081008/sc_space/nasachiefthanksobamaforhelpingwithsoyuzwaiver

[SILVANUS]

Thanks! Great pics!

[laplap]

I'm SORRY to tell you, but you're *WRONG*...

The posting by RealityBaseCamp later in this thread (posted 11:27 PM on 10/07/2008) has the correct story.

The funny thing is why "we" thought Mercury had a synchronous "tidal lock" to its rotation. It's hard to look at something so close to the sun, and it can best be observed only at certain times in the orbit. By coincidence, those positions in the orbit are "harmonic" with the positions as Mercury spins on its axis. From the outset, if we could have observed Mercury continuously, (i.e., when it was behind or in front of the sun) we would have seen that one side doesn't always face toward the sun.

It reminds me of the old Polish joke (or fill in your favorite butt of ethnic jokes) about an American, Russian, and Polish scientist describing the difficulties of a space mission to the sun... and then the last guy declares "Well, we're going to fly to the sun at night!" Similary, it was hard to confront the sun directly and observations had to be done at the margins.

Anyway, the full explanation is in Wikipedia, of course. The article is a bit technical and has too much jargon, but we're Americans! We can send people to the moon! (or probes to Mercury). We can read Wikipedia!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)#Spin.E2.80.93orbit_resonance

[NoFreedomOfSpeechHere]

the Polish do not fly to sun because they cannot read directions for machine to make fly to sun. Instead they use very big rubber band made of many thousand con dom. It look very nice and work very good.

[Ono4Hoopono]

This is the real stuff. What beautiful pictures. And to put all these current events in perspective, any one of the impacts that created those craters could make this all go away...poof! Makes all the wracked nerves over this election seem pretty insignificant.

To echo some others here...Way to go NASA!!! Truly inspirational. No doubt the work of some of those "elite" scientists. Just for the record, "elite" is just another name for the people who actually did their homework when they were in school.

It is really a relief to know some of our fellow Americans are out there quietly getting it done, whatever it is. In the sixties, during all that turmoil, NASA gave the whole world pause with the Moon landing. Won't it be nice to have a real president so this kind of excellence can spill over into other areas of our lives. Can you imagine if we put this kind of quiet elitist effort into alternative energy? Again, go NASA!!!

[GrainOSand]

I concur.

[cultkicker]

Ono - Are you aware that 75% of those NASA scientists, the one's who did their homwork while in school, are Chinese citizens?

[politicsnoob]

ROFLMAO.....that is sooo true

[Ono4Hoopono]

Don't know if the percentage is exactly right, or if they are all Chinese, many are from India and other nations that respect smart people, but your point is taken. And I doubt the parents of those NASA employees derided their achievements as "elitists."

If we stopped calling people who work hard and educate themselves "elitists," we just might come through this all right. Our own children might aspire to such heights of intellectual achievement. Obama's mother had him up at 4:30 am to do extra work to get on top of his school work. Elitist? Hardly. How about a Mom who probably felt her child was going to have to be way better than the other kids just to stay afloat in a society that would try to hold him back from reaching his full potential. The whole "elitist" argument is to make the very sad people who made a mess of their lives by rejecting free thought, feel better about themselves without expecting them to expend any effort to better their condition. It is really cruel to coddle someone who seeks to blame others. It makes them bitter, and it feeds the vicious cycle of ignorance. This is the bitterness that the McCain/Palin rallies of late have sought to tap into, using those people as their "base." Pretty sad, and even now, highly irresponsible and detrimental to our common future.

[AmandaBC]

"any one of the impacts that created those craters could make this all go away"

Mercury doesn't have a real atmosphere, pretty much like the moon. Planet earth is a lot more protected, chances that a big rock hits us and wipes us all out are infinitesimal...

[MagisterLudi]

Lesson1: Among educated "big rocks" you refer to are called asteroids.
Lesson 2: There's a difference between earth and Earth. Look it up
Lesson3: "Planet earth is a lot more protected." Atmosphere provides little protection against asteroids ( "big rocks" for you).
Lesson 4: A number of "big rocks" has hit the Earth ( Arizona, near coast of Mexico etc). Educated people are aware of a theory that of those "big rocks" directly led to dinosaur extinction.
Class dismissed.

[Heavy]

It is a matter of when, not if.

[DragonFly]

I completely agree with you.

Most of us are systematically being corralled into lives of low expectation, and menial aspirations, while a handful of obscenely wealthy individuals gorge themselves on the fruits of our labor.

But of all the issues in today's world, the most grievous to me is the destruction of our own magnificent planet.
We've trashed the only home we have in the universe, and brought untold suffering to innocent cohabitants as well.

Earth's amazing array of flora and fauna and her life sustaining gifts, are being traded away for coin and power.

We can do better than this, but it will take a different kind of mindset and a whole lot of work to turn this situation around.

The clock is ticking down ... rapidly.

[All in All]

Indeed!

Well said!

[All in All]

Well Said, Indeed!

As We all know most of the Time it is not hard to figure-out what 0+1= Or 1+1+ & so-on (Etc..), this type of thinking also applies within every Persons individual Lives (Words & Actions Or in some cases the lack of those things, in any-case), which Effects each Persons individual Lives Personally & also even the Lives of other People as-well. We all belong to a collective, no-matter whatever else "We are All Humans and We all (I think) want to Keep on Living, along with Our Planet as-long as We each can keep on Living on--within Our Planet, and when those things individually come to Their gradual End-Time We all still try to Live-on (even if it may be through or Families & Friends or others) that's the most Beautiful part about Life it's self (Us-Humans & all other types of Life), All Life can continue on even when Life has seemed to come to it's Own End (History--The past surely predicts & shows Us all this & more).

Perfect One may not be, however as a whole We can & will be, or else!

Peace!

[ZenJu]

Space exploration, along with art, are probably the only saving graces of our sorry species. It is quite satisfying to have something to aspire to, to look up to, and the space programs have given us that, those of us who are willing to look up out of the mud of human "civilisation." Thank you, NASA.

[GetoffMylawn]

This is what is really cool about the USA, NASA.
Great job you rocket scientists!!!

[nabrum]

Those look like pictures of the Moon. In fact some of the craters look familiar. Wonder if they got them mixed up.

[blooddoc]

My thoughts exactly.....

[Sahaquiel]

Ahh, so pretty! Really neat stuff.

[Mort]

Book your flight now to the hottest planet in the solar system!

[MagisterLudi]

Stunning pictures. Who said NASA is not delivering?!!!

[JuniorBug]

I know, right? For a second I forgot I don't have health insurance and I'm going to have to work until I'm seventy-five. Thanks, NASA!

[Donns]

Suck it up and quit complaining NASA (Never A Straight Answer) needs the money more than you do, so they can do whatever it is that they do.

[wolfgangmo]

OH please. Another comment from a 6 year old.

NASA's budget is miniscule and it is the only federal agency who's technological spin-offs have paid for themselves many times over. Think of remote telemetry, miniaturization, environmental controls, and a host of other advances that came directly from NASA.

When JFK proposed a mission to the Moon, we also heard that it was a pointless boondoggle, and the money would be better spent here on earth or not at all.
Nevertheless, the materials and processes developed for the Space Program paid handsome dividends for everyone in more than money.

We need more investment like this and less pointless empire building.

[SpoxLogic]

Maybe that's why NASA is now gonna rely on the Russian Space Program to get a lot of the United States space stuff done. All that money they've been getting was just too, too, too (did I mention -too) much.

[MagisterLudi]

1,400 documented NASA inventions have benefited the word including:
Kidney dialysis machines.
CAT scan
MRI
freeze dried food.
Cardio rehabilitations machines
Water purification technology
Cordless power tools
TV Satellite Dish
Ear Thermometer
Optical Fiber Cable
Smoke Detector
Advanced Plastics

YOU' RE WELCOME

[MagisterLudi]

I don't think the human race has a moral obligation to learn about space, but it would be foolish and short sighted not to do so. It may hold the key to our survival."
Stephen Hawking

[PompusPalin]

Wow! These almost look real. God works in misterious ways.


GO BLAZERS! BOOOOOOOOOOM!

[Agent420]

What does your imaginary friend have to do with it?

[shellyamber]

I think I saw John McCain's childhood home in that really deep crater......