Mercury passes in front of the Sun.
Posted on 09/29/2011 2:11:10 PM PDT by decimon
Washington, D.C.—Only six months into its Mercury orbit, the tiny MESSENGER spacecraft has shown scientists that Mercury doesn't conform to theory. Its surface material composition differs in important ways from both those of the other terrestrial planets and expectations prior to the MESSENGER mission, calling into question current theories for Mercury's formation. Its magnetic field is unlike any other in the Solar System, and there are huge expanses of volcanic plains surrounding the north polar region of the planet and cover more than 6% of Mercury's surface. These findings and other surprises are revealed in seven papers in a special section of the September 30, 2011, issue of Science.
Surface Surprises
Two of the seven papers indicate that the surface material is more like that expected if Mercury formed from similar, but less oxidized, building blocks than those that formed its terrestrial cousins, perhaps reflecting a variable proportion of ice in the initial accretionary stages of the planets. Measurements of Mercury's surface by MESSENGER's X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Spectrometers also reveal substantially higher abundances of sulfur and potassium than previously predicted. Both elements vaporize at relatively low temperatures, and their abundances thus rule out several popular scenarios in which Mercury experienced extreme high-temperature events early in its history.
"Theorists need to go back to the drawing board on Mercury's formation," remarked the lead author of one of the papers, Carnegie's Larry Nittler. "Most previous ideas about Mercury's chemistry are inconsistent with what we have actually measured on the planet's surface."
Volcanism
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
Mercury passes in front of the Sun.
There are those who wonder if we have been visited by life from other planets.
I would say that other life ‘noticing’ Earth would be like thinking that someone would notice life on a hydrogen atom that is part of the molecule H20 somewhere in the ocean.
Then they left. My hypothesis is simply that they left some debris around that has lasted over half a billion years. I still have to do more thinking about Mercury. It is obviously very slow rotating ~ all it's angular momentum having been used up launching loads to Jupiter station ~ but the original N appears to be covered with the heavier basalt. Currently one side faces the Sun all the time. Right now I'm thinking maybe there were mining operations on Mercury that made one side heavier than the other, or maybe a large load of Venus crust landed there and weighted down the side nearest the Sun.
The Moon is also in synchronous rotation with its orbit around the Earth. One item in mind is that space elevator/launch mechanism on Earth and Venus was powered by a very large motor consisting of a couple of electro magnets in a boom arm that reverse polarity to use the planetary magnetic field as an energy source. The Moon's field is simply too weak for that for long so that's where they'd use up the angular momentum.
My thesis also answers the question about why mercury spins so slowly and why it's geographic equater is not in synch with its magnetic equator.
Currently NASA is working on a project to go visit that DEEPEST HOLE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM that's located at the Moon's South Pole.
Did you ever notice that many of the small craters on the Moon are clustered around that hole rather like they just kind of fell in there randomly? My thesis says the loads from Earth were launched to the boom arm launch assembly from a space elevator that gave them just enough momentum to get there. We can probably estimate the speed and size of the loads based on the crater widths and depths. Presumably some of the loads missed getting caught by the boom arm and simply hit the Moon.
Well, as great a vacation spot as it sounds, I haven't had the fortune to visit the South Pole on the Moon.
Did you ever notice that many of the small craters on the Moon are clustered around that hole rather like they just kind of fell in there randomly?
Do you mean it doesn't look random?
OK. They admit it was theory.
Do black holes exist (is it a fact) , or is it theory?
Here is the solar system’s deepest cliff:
Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110404.html
“Verona Rupes on Uranus’ moon Miranda is estimated to be 20 kilometers deep”
Now that you mention it, I meant “looks like there’s a pattern to the way they landed”.
Oh, is that what it is? I was wondering if those reindeer mushrooms were kicking in again.
Oh sure. Now they’re going to declassify Mercury as a planet and have to rewrite all the school textbooks
again....
How convenient for the textbook manufacturers.
Science ping
Thanks for the ping!
I want some of whatever you’re drinking...
Hmm ~ maybe the aliens never left our sector. That's a pretty good sized body ~ a little command of artificial gravity and you got your space ship~
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