I spent Monday helping film the next Sky at Night, which is all about the MESSENGER mission to the planet Mercury. How could it not be? It’s shown us part of a planet (a real planet, not this Pluto nonsense) that we have never seen before. The first results have been stunning; at first glance it’s a world that looks like the Moon, but in detail it’s very different.
There’s a press conference going on now which you can watch online and I’ll write about everything they announce that didn’t make it into the program tomorrow.
Stuart on January 30, 2008
Just thought I would get in quick and say hi to Laurele who is bound to want to comment after that slight on Pluto
Emily has a nice post with an image of Pluto as seen by New Horizons.
Richard on February 2, 2008
A new image from Messenger has shown that Mercury actually has some slight coloration – there are faint pinks and blues, showing that it’s not just like the Moon after all. Also, a strange feature dubbed ‘the spider’, an ancient volcano, has been beautifully imaged ( http://blogearth.wordpress.com/2008/02/02/mercury-the-planet-with-a-spider/ )
This mission has really got me interested in Mercury. Can’t wait until the next flyby in October!
Laurel Kornfeld on October 24, 2008
Hi, Stuart; this is a very belated response, as I had not seen your comment until now, but thank you for thinking of me and for the link to the image of Pluto! Mercury is cool too; they’re both planets. It’s not a question of either/or but both/and.