Explanation: What's that under the surface of Mercury? The robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that had been orbiting planet Mercury for the past four years had been transmitting its data back to Earth with radio waves of very precise energy. The planet's gravity, however, slightly changed this energy when measured on Earth, which enabled the reconstruction of a gravity map of unprecedented precision. Here gravitational anomalies are shown in false-color, superposed on an image of the planet's cratered surface. Red hues indicate areas of slightly higher gravity, which in turn indicates areas that must have unusually dense matter under the surface. The central area is Caloris Basin, a huge impact feature measuring about 1,500 kilometers across. Last week, after completing its mission and running low on fuel, MESSENGER was purposely crashed onto Mercury's surface.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: Mercury - gravity - Merkurii - gravitaciya Publikacii so slovami: Mercury - gravity - Merkurii - gravitaciya
Sm. takzhe: Krater Vival'di na Merkurii ot apparata "BepiKolombo" S dobrym utrom, Luna Merkurii s proletayushego apparata "BepiKolombo" Natrievyi hvost Merkuriya Padenie shara v Solnechnoi sisteme Merkurii i svet da Vinchi Venera, Merkurii i ubyvayushaya Luna Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>