June 2024 S M T W T F S « Apr 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- July 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
Currently Used Categories
Tag Cloud
- astro201
- astro2110
- astrobiology
- astronomy
- blog1
- blog2
- blog3
- blog4
- blog5
- blog6
- blog7
- blog8
- blog9
- blog10
- brahe
- Comets
- Copernicus
- earth
- Europa
- extremophiles
- galilei
- galileo
- gravity
- history
- HW2
- HW6
- jupiter
- Kepler
- life
- Mars
- me
- Moon
- NASA
- Newton
- planets
- pluto
- saturn
- Solar System
- space
- spacecraft
- technology
- telescopes
- tides
- Time
- Uncategorized
Tag Archives: mercury
Geology of the Moon and Mercury – Blog 4
After writing my last blog post about atmospheres and the greenhouse effect, when learning that the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury cause them to be considered practically airless and have no weather, I became heavily intrigued. What makes the Moon and Mercury so different from the other planets in our solar system? Thus, I […] Continue reading
Posted in Terrestrials
Tagged astro2110, blog4, craters, geology, mercury, Moon, Solar System, volcano
Comments Off on Geology of the Moon and Mercury – Blog 4
Mercury and its core | blog IV
Measuring just over one-third of Earth’s diameter, Mercury is the smallest terrestrial planet in the solar system. However, relative to other worlds, Mercury’s core constitutes a very large part of its volume. Despite the vast difference in their scale, “Mercury’s inner core is indeed solid [and] very nearly the same size as Earth’s inner core,” […] Continue reading
Mercury’s Shrinkage
It’s been long thought that of the Fab (Terrestrial) Five, only Earth remains geologically active. However, recent evidence shows that little Mercury, long thought to be tectonically dead, is actually shrinking! The evidence comes in the form of small troughs (upper arrows in the picture below) and scarps (lower arrows) astronomers were able to photographContinue reading “Mercury’s Shrinkage” Continue reading
Surface Features of Mercury
Mercury is a terrestrial planet, though it is quite different in appearance than Earth. It’s grey rocky surface more resembles that of the moon, however unlike the moon Mercury has a liquid iron core and is much denser. Moreover, Mercury’s surface features paint an interesting story of past geological occurrences. Mercury formed around 4.6 billionContinue reading “Surface Features of Mercury” Continue reading
Posted in Class, Terrestrials
Tagged astro2110, blog3, geology, mercury, Solar System
Comments Off on Surface Features of Mercury
Exploration and Geology of Mercury
Because it is so technically difficult to reach Mercury with spacecraft’s from Earth, the geology of Mercury is understood the least of all the terrestrial worlds. The main reason it is so hard to reach is due to how close Mercury is to the Sun. When a spacecraft moves down Sun’s gravitational potential well to … Continue reading Exploration and Geology of Mercury → Continue reading
Retrograde Motion: Illusions and Jinxes
Understanding the heavens has proven confusing for countless generations of humans in part because of the illusions caused by our perspective from earth. For millennia, the majority opinion was a geocentric universe, where the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolved around the earth, since they all seemed to do so from the earth’s perspective. All […] Continue reading
Blog Post #7: Comets Can Be Artists Too
bbc.com A new study shows that Mercury may have been “painted” black by passing comets. In class, we have learned to compare …
Posted in Small SS Objects
Tagged astro201, blog7, Comets, mercury, Solar System
Comments Off on Blog Post #7: Comets Can Be Artists Too
Messenger’s Last Legs
The MESSENGER mission, short for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging sent up the probe in August 2004. In March 2011 it became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. The probe has done a lot in its years around the Solar System’s first planet including: constructing the best-ever maps of Mercury and discovering carbon-containing […]
Continue reading
Geological Activity of Mercury
Image Source For many years, scientists have regarded Mercury as a planet that has little to offer, as it is more or less a ‘dead’ planet. Mercury has acquired such dull attributes given its treacherous location in the Solar System. Its proximity to the Sun allows the sun-facing side of mercury to reach temperatures of […]
Continue reading
Posted in Terrestrials
Tagged astro201, blog5, mercury
Comments Off on Geological Activity of Mercury