Mercury: Messenger orbital data confirm theories, reveal surprises
Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 14:30
in Astronomy & Space
In March, the Messenger spacecraft entered orbit around Mercury to become that planet's first orbiter. The tiny craft is providing a wealth of new information and some surprises. For instance, Mercury's surface composition differs from that expected for the innermost of the terrestrial planets, and Mercury's magnetic field has a north-south asymmetry that affects the interaction of the surface with charged particles from the solar wind.