Astonished scientists have reported the discovery of water ice on Mercury, and in large amounts.
www.planetary.org...
As MESSENGER flew past the night side of Mercury in January, its Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) scooped up ions from an atmosphere so
tenuous that it's usually called an "exosphere." FIPS measured the expected amounts of ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium that had
previously been detected in Mercury's exosphere, but to the science team's great surprise there was also water present, and in large amounts.
"Nobody expected that. I don't know a single person that did. We were astonished, just astonished," said MESSENGER science team member Thomas
Zurbuchen.
I expected water to be found on Mars but never Mercury. Also, the planet Mercury appears to be shrinking.
One of Mercury's most puzzling qualities is its large iron core, which makes up 60 percent of the planet. The outsized core suggests to some
scientists that Mercury may once have been larger and that its outer layers were stripped away by an unidentified process.
As Messenger sped close in January, it found the metal core to be responsible for an active magnetic field around the planet. The presence of a global
magnetic field is a feature Mercury shares with Earth, but not sister planets Venus and Mars.
The probe also found volcanic vents, unseen by Mariner, that show ancient lava flows contributed to the material that covers much of Mercury's
surface. Previously, it appeared the material flowed from craters formed as the planet was pelted by asteroids and comets.
www.nrao.edu...
www.chron.com...
No matter how much we think we know about the solar system, there will always be so much more to learn.
