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| Piú viste - Mercury |
ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Dearin_Crater-PIA13488.jpgDark Spot at "Derain Crater" (Enhanced Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)125 visiteIn the center of this image is Derain, an impact crater first viewed during MESSENGER's 2nd Mercury flyby and named in 2009.
Derain has material within it and in its surroundings that is much darker than the neighboring terrain. In fact, the material associated with Derain appears to have the lowest reflectance yet identified on Mercury's Surface.
The Dark Deposits may be material with a mineralogical composition different from the majority of Mercury's visible Surface, but more data are needed before any further insight into the composition can be gained.
Observations to be acquired during MESSENGER's orbital mission phase will help to identify the uncommonly Dark Material at Derain Crater and similar occurrences elsewhere on the Planet.
Also visible in this image (upper right side), is the rayed Crater "Berkel", which has Dark Material as well in its center and in a ring immediately surrounding it. In contrast, two neighboring craters of Berkel have bright rays but lack Dark Halos. Why do some craters contain Dark Materials while others do not? MESSENGER's orbital data will be used to investigate that question and to improve our understanding of the nature and structure of Mercury's Crust.
Date Acquired: October 6, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: Derain Crater is approx. 190 Km in diameter (such as about 118 miles)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Crater_Field-PIA13823-2-PCF-LXTT_(2).jpgThe Surface of Mercury (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)124 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Waters_Crater-PIA18228-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgWaters Crater (EDM - Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)124 visiteIn this beautiful image, obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on September, 16, 2013, we can see the extremely unusually-looking Impact Crater known as Waters. The South-heading Dark Impact Melt Flow of Waters Crater (approx. 15 Km - such as about 9,315 miles - in diameter and so named, in the AD 2012, after the blues legend Muddy Waters - Mc Kinley Morganfield, born in Issaquena County - Mississippi - USA -, on April 4, 1913 and deceased in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983) has always been - we'd say, obviously - a Surface Feature of great interest for Planetary Scientists, and the Targeted Color Imaging Campaign carried out by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft showed quite well, and more than once, the distinctive dark gray-greenish-bluish color of the aforementioned Impact Melt Flow.
As a consequence of such a great interest, during the late AD 2013, this High-Resolution Image was then acquired, and it revealed stunning new details (like the Wavy Texture) of the Impact Melt Flow - details which were (as far as their visual quality was and is concerned) way beyond the ones that had been photographed in other (previous) frames.
Date acquired: September, 16th, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 21673915
Image ID: 4834878
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 9,00° South
Center Longitude: 254,70° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 44,0° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 46,0° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 44,8°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 85,5°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON-Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 18228) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Donalaitis_Crater-PIA16958-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgDonelaitis Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/IPF)123 visiteThis composite of three frames, taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft in August 2011, shows us the recently named Donalaitis Crater (whose diameter is approx. 84,5 Km - such as about 52,47 miles - and it lies well visible at the center of the image). As you can see, this Complex Mercurian Impact Crater exhibits some extremely unusually-looking bright yellow-orangish Deposits on its Floor. These colorful and very bright Deposits, as you may easily notice, contrast starkly with the much darker and gray colors (with pale brown/reddish nuances and some brighter white spots - where the latter could be, perhaps, some Hollows-covered areas) of the surrounding (and highly cratered) Terrain.
Donelaitis Crater was named after Kristijonas Donelaitis (1714 - 1780), a Lithuanian poet. His classic poem, 'The Seasons (Metai)', describes the lives of Lithuanian peasants, who at the time of its writing were being pushed into serfdom as most of their country was annexed by the Russian Empire.
Date acquired: August, 21st, 2011
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 222408661, 222408681, 222408665
Images ID: 658976, 658981, 658977
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 51,81° South
Center Longitude: 39,11° East
Resolution: 874 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 56,2° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 33,8° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 0,5°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 55,7°
This picture (which has been cropped from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft false color image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16958) has been additionally processed and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZW-Mercury-PIA13508-PCF-LXTT.jpgHokusai Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)122 visiteThis mosaic of NAC images shows the Impact Crater Hokusai, located on Mercury at a latitude of approx. 58° North. The Crater has an impressive System of Rays, which extend as much as a thousand kilometers (more than 600 miles) across the Planet and are the longest that have yet been identified on Mercury.
Such Rays are formed when an impact excavates material from beneath the Surface and throws that material outward from the Crater. These bright Rays, consisting of both Ejecta and Secondary Craters (that form when the ejected material re-impacts the Surface), slowly begin to fade as they are exposed to the harsh Space Environment. Mercury and other airless Planetary Bodies are being constantly bombarded with Micrometeoroids and Energetic Ions, both concurring to produce an effect known as "Space Weathering".
Craters with Bright Rays are thought to be relatively young because the Rays are still visible, indicating that they have had less exposure to such weathering processes than craters that lack rays.
Although the extent of some of Hokusai's Rays have been determined, images acquired during MESSENGER's three Mercury fly-bys have not yet shown all of them.
During MESSENGER's orbital observations, which will begin in March 2011, MDIS will acquire high-resolution color images of Mercury's entire Surface.
This Global Color Map will allow the better understand the extent of the extensive Systems of Rays emanating from Hokusai and other young Craters, to be mapped for the first time.
Date Acquired: October, 6th, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: The diameter of Mercury is of about 4880 Km (3030,48 miles) and Hokusai Crater has a diameter of approx. 95 Km (58,995 miles)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Faulkner_Crater-PIA16908-PCF-LXTT-IPF-0.jpgFaulkner Crater (CTX Frame - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)121 visiteIn this picture, taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft, we can see relatively young and smooth Lava Plains which have filled and partially (actually, almost completely) buried the Mercurian Faulkner Crater (approx. 168 Km - such as about 104,32 miles - in diameter), leaving only the Northern three-quarters of its highly degraded Rim visible. These smooth Lava Plains, which have relatively few superposed Impact Craters (and that is why they can be considered - always relatively speaking - "young") and appear of a light brown-pink color in this Absolute Natural Colors image, were - likely - emplaced when powerful Volcanic Flows breached Faulkner's Southern Rim, invaded the whole Floor of the Crater and then set, leaving only the highest-standing portions of Terrain (such as, as we wrote herebefore, some part of its Northern Rim) almost intact.
Date acquired: January, 19th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 878881, 878901, 878885
Images ID: 3356193, 3356198, 3356194
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 8,61° North
Center Longitude: 77,37° East
Resolution: 299 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 36,5° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 53,5° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 43,6°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 78,1°
This picture (which has been cropped from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft false color image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16908) has been additionally processed and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition. MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Rupes-PIA13748-1.jpgBeagle Rupes and Impact Craters Sveinsdottir, Izquierdo and Kunisada (Edited EDM)120 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Z2.jpgFading away...120 visiteUn piccolo esempio di come la NASA "giochi" con i colori dei Pianeti: nell'inset, come da didascalia, un'immagine in "True Colors" di Mercurio ottenuta dalla Sonda Mariner 10, durante il terzo Fly-By di Mercurio, occorso nel lontano AD 1975. Mercurio, come in TUTTE le foto dell'epoca (incluse quelle ottenute via-telescopio, da Terra) appare di un color rossiccio/marrone, ed infatti più di un Astronomo, in quegli anni, disse che Mercurio era "molto più rosso/arancio di Marte".
Perchè?
Per effetto dell'azione, incessante e combinata, delle particelle cariche che formano il Vento Solare ed i Raggi Cosmici; particelle che, per almeno 4,5/5 miliardi di anni, hanno "martellato" Mercurio (particelle cariche le quali, unite all'azione di bombardamento meteorico, costituiscono l'essenza del cosiddetto "Space Weathering").
Ora, qual'è l'effetto del bombardamento di particelle cariche sulla roccia che forma i Corpi Celesti "massicci" (la roccia che è "esposta" al duro "Ambiente Cosmico", come si dice tecnicamente - Harsh Space Environment)? Semplice: prima la roccia diventa rosa, poi più scura (diciamo arancio/rossiccia), poi ancora più scura (rosso/marrone) ed infine diviene nera. In altre parole: l'azione congiunta delle particelle che formano il Vento Solare (il quale "batte" Mercurio incessantemente e da - relativamente - vicino) e di quelle che formano i Raggi Cosmici, porta la roccia a diventare, negli eoni, sempre più scura.
Questo concetto che Vi ho appena esposto è accettato dall'INTERA Comunità Scientifica.
Ora, come vedete, la NASA ci fa vedere un qualcosa di assolutamente bizzarro, ossia la Superficie di Mercurio che, negli anni tra il 1975 ed il 2011, anzichè rimanere scura (o scurirsi ancor di più) si è "schiarita". E allora? Come è mai possibile una cosa simile? Semplice: non è possibile.
Questo vuol dire che le foto Mariner 10 del 1975 (dal punto di vista cromatico) erano genuine, al pari delle immagini ottenute da Terra. D'altro canto, le foto MESSENGER che ci arrivano adesso sono, sempre dal punto di vista cromatico, "taroccate": per l'esattezza, sono state TUTTE sovrasaturate - ergo sbiadite nei toni cromatici, così "trasformando" Mercurio da Pianeta Rossiccio/Marrone, in Pianeta Grigio.
Perchè? Beh, questo chiedetelo ai Ragazzi di Pasadena: loro, con i colori, ci giocano da parecchi anni....MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Balzac_Crater_and_others-PIA16907-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgCraters' Variety (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)118 visiteThis oblique view of the Surface of Mercury highlights, from top to bottom, the Impact Craters Balzac, Phidias,Tyagaraja, Stevenson, and Zeami. While named Impact Craters are still sparse across much of the Surface of Mercury, this Region, since it had already been observed by the NASA - Mariner 10 Spacecraft, granted to Planetary Scientists and Researchers plenty of time to propose names to the International Astronomical Union (or IAU, for short) and get them approved. Furthermore, in the NASA - Mariner 10 images of Mercury, Craters like Tyagaraja (located at the center of the image and having a diameter of approx. 97 Km - such as about 60,2 miles) and Zeami were described as hosting "Bright Floor Deposits", but the relatively low resolution at which they were imaged at that time did not allow the Planetary Scientists to carry out a more detailed analysis.
Now, thanks to the imaging capabilities of the cameras onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft, we know that the Mercurian Impact Craters such as these visible in today's APOD, actually do not host "Bright Floor Deposits" but rather that fascinating (and still far from being fully understood) Features known as "Hollows".
Date acquired: November, 26th, 2012
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262401199, 262401219, 262401203
Images ID: 3026482, 3026487, 3026483
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 4,64° North
Center Longitude: 210,50° East
Resolution: 698 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 30,2° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 59,8° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 57,5°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 83,8°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft false color image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16907) has been additionally processed and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Terminator-PIA17229-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSouthern Terminator (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)118 visiteThis image-mosaic was created by combining two frames that were taken only 96 seconds apart from each other. It is obvious that the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft has to be farther away from the Planet Mercury (and, precisely, it must be in the Southern portion of its orbit) to acquire views like these. Mercury's heavily Cratered Surface is very well and really dramatically highlighted here - particularly in the Regions near the Terminator (such as the Boundary Line existing between the Sunlit Dayside and the Dark Nightside of the Planet) -, thus reflecting its, in a way, "violent" history; an history which saw this always mysterious and fascinating Celestial Body being impacted by thousands and thousands of objects (i.e.: Meteors, Comets and, probably, even a few small Asteroids), through the ages.
Date acquired: May 7th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 10234404, 10234500
Images ID: 4021801, 4021802
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 60,00° South
Center Longitude: 260,00° East
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17229) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-Flare-Fake-PIA16909-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgThis is NOT a "Game"!113 visiteFile NASA originale, scaricato dal "NASA - Planetary Photojournal" (ed ora non più esistente). MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Crater-PIA16392-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgUnnamed Mercurian Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the research and the additional process.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)112 visiteThis dramatic image, where North is to the right, shows a Simple Impact Crater some 11 Km in diameter, located within the 290-Km-diameter Mendelssohn Basin. Its sharp Rim indicates that this Crater is a comparatively young Feature, though some parts of the Crater Walls have slumped (---> slowly fallen down) onto the Floor. The High Resolution of this image allows us to see quite a few distinctive textures along the Crater Walls.
Date acquired: July 21, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 251400686
Image ID: 2244179
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 70,28° North
Center Longitude: 105,38° East
Resolution: 19 meters/pixel
Scale: the field of view in this image is approx. 9,7 Km (such as about 2,3 miles) across
Solar Incidence Angle: 76,9° (menaing that the Sun was about 13,1° above the imaged Local Horizon at the time that the picture was taken)
Emission Angle: 11,0°
Sun-Mercury-MESSENGER (or "Phase") Angle: 87,9°MareKromium
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