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| Piú viste - Mercury |
ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Stieglitz_Crater-Central_Peak-PIA16420-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgLong Shadows from the Complex Central Peak of Stieglitz Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)105 visiteThis really beautiful and dramatic image taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft shows us the Central Peak of the Stieglitz Impact Crater, which is located high on Mercury's Northern Hemisphere. The fresh appearance of its Ejecta Deposit suggests that Stieglitz is a relatively young Crater. Intriguingly, Stieglitz also hosts some significant amounts of Radar-Bright Materials whose origin and composition is, so far, unknown.
Date acquired: August, 27th, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 254597521
Image ID: 2471477
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 72,71° North
Center Longitude: 67,90° East
Resolution: 17 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 83,4° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 6,6° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 47,6°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 130,9°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16420) 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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ZY-Mercury-PIA13840-PCF-LXTT.jpgCrescent Mercury (an Image-Mosaic by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)104 visiteThis HR mosaic of NAC images shows Mercury as it appeared to MESSENGER as the Spacecraft departed the Planet following its first mission's Fly-By. This mosaic resembles the historic first image transmitted back to Earth after that Fly-By and shows a portion of the Planet never previously seen by Spacecrafts.
Date Acquired: January, 14th, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Terninator_Line-PIA16360-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgMercurian Terminator (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)104 visiteThis striking image shows the progression of Daylight across the Surface of Mercury and the line separating the night from the day is called "Terminator". Scientists have studied interesting phenomena occurring near the Terminator of the Moon for years. Such occurrences involve the interaction between Lunar Dust and Charged Solar Particles (---> the Ions making the Solar Wind). Because Mercury's Regolith is exposed to almost ten times as many Charged Particles as the Moon, it is an excellent place to study the effects of Solar Radiation on Surface Materials. In this unprojected image, North is to the right.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's campaign to monitor the South Polar Region of Mercury. By imaging the Polar Regions approximately every 4 (four) MESSENGER orbits as illumination conditions change, the Surface Features that were in the shadows on earlier orbits, can be discerned and any permanently shadowed areas can also be identified after repeated imaging over One Solar Day. During MESSENGER's one-year primary mission, MDIS's WAC was used to monitor the South Polar Regions for the first Mercury Solar Day (which corresponds to 176 Earth Days), and MDIS's NAC made repeated images of the South Polar Regions during the second Mercury Solar Day.
Date acquired: August 01, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220726567
Image ID: 579208
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 84.97° South Lat.
Center Longitude: 75,81° East Long.
Resolution: 1500 meters/pixel
Scale: the large crater at the bottom center is approx. 155 km (such as about 96 miles) in diameter.
Solar Incidence Angle: 84,9° (meaning that the Sun, at the picture was taken, was about 5,1° above the Imaged Local Horizon)
Emission Angle: 23,8°
Sun-Mercury-MESSENGER (or "Phase") Angle: 97,0°MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Tyagaraja_Crater-PIA17051-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgTyagaraja Crater (CTX Frame - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)104 visiteThis colorful picture of Tyagaraja Crater (which is about 97 Km - such as approx. 60,23 miles - in diameter) and its surroundings shows us many different types of Material that exist on the Surface of Mercury. For instance, the very bright, white areas visible on the Floor of the Crater (in particular to the North/East, at about 3 o'clock) are the very "famous" (and common, on Mercury) Hollows; as a matter of fact, they are so much brighter than the surrounding Areas that they appear slightly over-saturated in this particular image. The yellow/red/orangish spots located near the center of the Crater are, most likely, Volcanic Materials which surround a Pyroclastic Vent. Last, but not least, the very Dark Material (almost black) that is visible all around Tyagaraja Crater (and, particularly, towards the South/Western Regions surrounding Tyagaraja - such as the areas located in the lower left (Sx) side of the frame) is Low Reflectance Material (LRM). Just out of curiosity, if you look carefully at the outline of Tyagaraja Crater, you may notice that its shape is quite unusual for a Primary Impact Crater: in fact, its shape it is not a "circle", but rather an (almost regular, on its Western side) "hexagon".
Date acquired: April 25th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 9232956, 9232948, 9232944
Images ID: 3950118, 3950116, 3950115
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 3,94° North
Center Longitude: 211,20° East
Resolution: 22 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 13,4° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 76,6° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 18,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 31,5°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft Map Projected false color image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17051) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced 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-PIA13748-0.jpgBeagle Rupes and Impact Craters Sveinsdottir, Izquierdo and Kunisada (Context Frame)103 visiteWhen MESSENGER first flew by Mercury on January, 14th, 2008, MDIS acquired images of a large portion of Mercury's Surface that had never previously been seen by Spacecraft. This mosaic of NAC images shows some of the Geologic Features discovered during that first fly-by that have been subsequently named: the curving cliff face of Beagle Rupes, the elongated crater Sveinsdottir and the craters Izquierdo and Kunisada flooded with Lava.
This year, the MESSENGER spacecraft is positioned once again to visit the Solar System's Innermost Planet. However, this time, the Spacecraft won't just pass by. On March 18, 2011, a 15-minute maneuver will place MESSENGER in orbit around Mercury, making it the first Spacecraft ever to do so. The MESSENGER Mission will then begin an extensive year-long science campaign to unravel Mercury's mysteries.
Date Acquired: January, 14th, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: Izquierdo Crater is approx. 170 Km (105,57 miles) in diameterMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-To_Ngoc_Van_Crater-PIA15201-PCF-LXTT-IPF-01.jpgTo Ngoc Van (EDM - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)103 visiteIn this beautiful Extra Detail Magnification (or "EDM" for short) which has been taken from a picture obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on November, 8, 2011, we can see, once again, prominent, near the center of the degraded Impact Crater To Ngoc Van, an interesting (and really irregularly shaped) Collapse Pit (approx. 20 Km - such as about 12,42 miles - across). As a matter of fact, many samples of Impact Craters with one (or more) Collapse Pit/s located on their Floors, have already been identified across the Mercurian Surface and - most likely - they all formed as a consequence of (extremely ancient) phenomena of Explosive Volcanism. To be more specific, we, as IPF, do believe that the aforementioned phenomena of Explosive Volcanism that caused the formation of Pits inside a great number of Mercurian Impact Craters, was, most likely, triggered by the Impacts themselves and the subsequent powerful Shock-Waves that deeply altered the Sub-Surface of a Planet which - at the time when most of the Impacts took place - was still Geoilogically Active (we could say that, in those - remote - times when its Surface was so heavily battered, Mercury was, however, still "alive" - at least from a Geological point of view).
Date acquired: November, 8th, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229277972
Image ID: 988708
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 52,89° North
Center Longitude: 248,60° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 60,3° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 29,7° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 23,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 83,4°
This picture (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 15201) 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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ZZZ-Mercury-PIA19424.jpg103 visiteCaption NASA:"The MESSENGER Spacecraft sent this frame back to Earth after the it emerged from Superior Solar Conjunction, when the communication is largely blocked by the Sun. This is one of our last views of Mercury from MESSENGER. Featured here is the Ejecta Blanket of a (relatively) fresh Unnamed Impact Crater located just outside the scene. Ejecta scoured the Surface leaving behind beautiful patterns of Secondary Impact Craters".
Date acquired: April 16, 2015
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 71544702
Image ID: 8343072
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 55,67° North
Center Longitude: 97,37° East
Resolution: 19,9 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 20 Km acrossMareKromium
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Mercury - Brahms Crater from Mariner 10.jpgBrahms Crater - Mariner 10102 visiteMercurio, sebbene possegga la qualifica di "Pianeta", è più piccolo di Ganimede (la maggiore luna di Giove) e di Titano (la maggiore di Saturno).
Un altro dato interessante su Mercurio attiene la sua rotazione, in rapporto all'orbita descritta dal Pianeta intorno al Sole. Mercurio, infatti, per ogni due orbite complete, ruota su se stesso solo tre volte (da cui deriva che 1 giorno di Mercurio equivale a ben 176 giorni Terrestri; idem per la notte). Mercurio è un Pianeta molto denso e massiccio (più della nostra Luna e di molte altre Lune dei Pianeti Maggiori) in quanto riteniamo che sia formato, in prevalenza, da ferro. Esso non ha mai costituito un oggetto di particolare interesse (almeno fino ad oggi, A.D. 2004) ed è stato "visitato" solo una volta, con un passaggio ravvicinato, da parte di una Sonda Americana: era il 1974 e la Sonda - che ha peraltro scattato le prime 12 fotografie che Vi proponiamo in questa rapida carrellata - si chiamava Mariner 10.
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Rustaveli_Crater-PIA16359-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgRustaveli Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)100 visiteThis Absolute Natural Color Image-Mosaic shows the Rustaveli Crater, a newly named Impact Basin located in the Northern Hemisphere of Mercury. The Basin has a smooth, filled Floor with little weathering and a Peak-ring Structure. Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet who lived from 1172-1216. He is well known for writing the Georgian National Epic Poem, "The Knight in the Panther's Skin". He is also the namesake of the coveted Shota Rustaveli State Prize, the highest honor a Georgian artist or writer can achieve.
Date acquired: July 18, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219478808, 219478804, 219478800
Image ID: 519956, 519955, 519954
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (996, 748, 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: 52,40° North
Center Longitude: 81,79° East
Resolution: 187 meters/pixel
Scale: the diameter of Rustaveli basin is roughly 180 Km (such as approx. 112 miles).
Solar Incidence Angle: 59,8° (meaning that the Sun was about 30,2° above the imaged Local Horizon at the time that the picturs were taken)
Emission Angle: 30,6°
Sun-Mercury-MESSENGER (or "Phase") Angle: 90,4°MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Volcanic_Features-Vent-GC-PIA16990-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgVolcanic Vent? (Absokute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)100 visiteThis picture is a NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft frame that shows us a potential Volcanic Vent located within the Mercurian Impact Crater Glinka. The resolution of this image (which is approx. 46 Km - such as about 28,566 miles - across) is more than two times better than the one of quite a few previous images of the same area, but there are still many doubts among Planetary Scientists that the Depression of the Surface that we see here is actually a Volcanic Vent (---> as a matter of fact, it could also easily be an unusually-looking Collapse Pit, for instance...). The Impact Crater Glinka was named after the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka (1804 - 1857), who is regarded as one of the Fathers of the Russian Classical Music.
Date acquired: November 26th, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262402263
Image ID: 3026496
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 14,96° North
Center Longitude: 247,40° East
Resolution: 44 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 67,5° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 22,5° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 3,1°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 64,5°
This image (which has been cropped from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft Map Projected b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16990) 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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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Unnamed_Craters-CB-PIA17692-PCF-LXTT-IPF-0.jpgOn the Edge of Caloris Basin (CTX Frame - Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color. Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)100 visiteThis picture, which is an image-mosaic made of 3 (three) frames taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on October, 24, 2013, features several Unnamed Impact Craters (being the larger one, visible near the top of the image, approximately 54 Km - such as about 33,53 miles - in diameter) that are all located in the proximities of the Eastern Edge of the Giant Caloris Basin. The two larger Unnamed Impact Craters seen here have excavated (obviously, at the time of their formation, and according to NASA's Scientists) "Low Reflectance Material", and they both show extrenmly bright Hollows (which, in fact, caused an oversaturation of the picture in the areas where thay are present) within their relatively flat Floors.
The Orange/Reddish Deposits visible in the North/Eastern Quadrant (---> center and upper right corner) of the scene, exhibit a so-called "Spectral Signature" that is similar to the one usually left by Pyroclastic Deposits, and this circumstance suggests that this Region (just like way many others on Mercury) might have, once, been the Site of Explosive Volcanism.
Date acquired: October, 24th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 24470528, 24960452, 24470516
Images ID: 5033545, 5068359, 5033542
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 23,72° North
Center Longitude: 179,10° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 24,8° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 65,2° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 8,4°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 33,2°
This frame (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's False Colors and Map-Projected image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17692) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected 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-Craters-Snorri_Crater-PIA16993-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSnorri Crater (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)99 visiteThe bright, Rayed Impact Crater visible in this image taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft, is one of the most prominent that we can find on the Planet Mercury. Named Snorri, after an Icelandic writer and poet, this Impact Crater is approx. 21 Km (such as a little more than 13 miles) in diameter and it was, in fact, discovered after the examination of the images returned by the NASA - Mariner 10 Spacecraft when it flew by Mercury on September, 21, 1974.
This frame was acquired as part of MDIS's High-Resolution Surface Morphology Base Map. The Surface Morphology Base Map covers more than 99% of Mercury's Surface with an Average Resolution of 200 meters/pixel. Images acquired for the Surface Morphology Base Map typically are obtained at off-vertical Sun Angles (---> high Solar Incidence Angles) and have visible Shadows so to clearly reveal the actual topographic forms/shapes of the imaged Geologic Features.
Date acquired: October, 14th, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 227045180
Image ID: 882221
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 9,42° South
Center Longitude: 277,10° East
Resolution: 195 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 22,4° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 67,6° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 51,0°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 73,4°
This image (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft Map Projected b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16993) 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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