Monday, June 18, 2012

Gee Pluto! Mickey Mouse on Mercury: NASA image from Messenger probe. - YouTube



A collection of large overlapping craters bear a resemblance to the iconic Disney character on the surface of the planet.

The craters were discovered on the southern hemisphere of Mercury, northwest of a larger crater known as Magritte.

The largest crater making up Mickey's 'head' measures at around 65 miles (105 kilometers) across.

The photo was taken during NASA's Messenger probe, which aims to collect images when the sun is near the horizon.

During these times, the sun produces long shadows that bring up smaller features on the planet's surface.

The Messenger spacecraft was the first to orbit Mercury in March 2011. It was recently given a one-year extension until March 2013 after having already collected nearly 100,000 images.

The Magritte crater's daytime temperatures rise to around 400°C (752°F), while it drops to as low as -200°C (-328°F) at night.

No comments:

Post a Comment