Earth Sciences 1086F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Cubic Centimetre, Orbital Inclination, Axial Tilt
6 Nov 2018
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Document Summary
"the first rock from sun: named after the roman god, no natural satellites. Stays in the same region of the sky: making it hard to see from earth. First information was collected from the mariner 10: communication equipment failed in the 80s, messenger, most of our knowledge of mercury has come from this mission, main objective- Investigate reflective materials at poles: to determine surface material composition, analyze magnetic fields, determine if there is a liquid outer core, launched in 2004. Fuel ran out in 2015: found out that mercury looks similar to the moon, both"s rotation has been altered by tidal attraction. Craters and plains, cliffs and hollows: has enormous cliffs that are hundreds of kms long. 40%/ of the surface: some due to volcanic eruptions, caloris basin, the largest basin on mercury. Info was initially provided by the mariner 10, however the messenger, showed the actual image (1300km in diameter: multi-ringed, partially filled with lava.
