Author Topic: NASA- MESSENGER updates  (Read 149383 times)

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #20 on: 01/14/2008 06:22 pm »
Correction on the above: the WLC was doing photometry (recognise the surface materials because of the light they reflect), not imaging.

However, the NAC has started working, creating a panorama of a part of Mercury, including unexplored terrain.
-DaviD-

Offline edkyle99

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #21 on: 01/14/2008 06:23 pm »
Right now, Messenger is photographing surfaces never imaged before.

 - Ed Kyle

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #22 on: 01/14/2008 06:26 pm »
One question I do have is why during eclipse (including closest approach) no major observations, if any, were performed. I suppose the spacecraft has batteries! Maybe just because it was too dark to see anything? But at least laser ranging should be useful...Meanwhile, this NAC mosaic is over, and this is the imaged terrain:
-DaviD-

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #23 on: 01/14/2008 06:29 pm »
Another short photometry session by the WAC will be followed by the second NAC mosaic in the next few minutes.
-DaviD-

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #24 on: 01/14/2008 06:34 pm »
NAC imaging the North polar regions (also unexplored terrain) I'm quite certain either the terrain to the left or to the right of the strip wasn't imaged by Mariner 10, and is based on radar observations from Earth. So, although it's 'a bit' explored, it hasn't been actually imaged that close.
-DaviD-

Offline Jeff Lerner

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #25 on: 01/14/2008 06:34 pm »
Thanks for all the updates...I'm interested in following this, even if not too many other folks are...:)

Offline stockman

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #26 on: 01/14/2008 06:36 pm »
Quote
Wildthing - 14/1/2008  2:34 PM

Thanks for all the updates...I'm interested in following this, even if not too many other folks are...:)

There is probably a lot of interest. Thanks to all posting here. While the primary use for this site is rocket launches, this kind of coverage is also appreciated very much. :)
One Percent for Space!!!

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #27 on: 01/14/2008 06:39 pm »
Quote
Wildthing - 14/1/2008  8:34 PMThanks for all the updates...I'm interested in following this, even if not too many other folks are...:)
A pleasure! I should be studying right now, the exams are close, but integral equations have so little appeal compared to first-of-its-kind Solar System exploration... :)NAC observations more than halfway completed, after that will be a WAC departure color imaging session.
-DaviD-

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #28 on: 01/14/2008 06:43 pm »
The resolution of the NAC images ranges from 115 and 300 meters for the last inteval, which is quite decent indeed! Coming up on the WAC departure color mosaic.
-DaviD-

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #29 on: 01/14/2008 06:48 pm »
WAC working hard now. There's one hour's worth of observation left in this flyby, including 4 NAC departure mosaics and a short session of WAC mosaic imaging in between. After the last NAC session is performed, and for the next several hours, MESSENGER will take a (expectedly very cool) departure movie, until tomorrow's evening.
-DaviD-

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #30 on: 01/14/2008 08:52 pm »
I answer myself to my previous question: I wondered why the team hadn't planned any observations during eclipse, but they actually had (only the timeline didn't reflect it), according to the planned events sequence posted in the Planetary Society's site. They did laser altimeter measurements.

Also, the section to the left of the uncharted territory (the light band in the visualization) is the one imaged from Arecibo, by radar, but not by Mariner.
-DaviD-

Offline edkyle99

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #31 on: 01/14/2008 09:52 pm »
FWIW, long-dead Mariner 10 is believed to be in a solar orbit that brings it close to Mercury every few (probably six) months.  

- Ed Kyle

Offline rvastro

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #32 on: 01/15/2008 12:20 am »
Planetary scientists are going to have a field day presenting the images. As an amatuer astronomer--I cannot wait!

Online Lampyridae

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #33 on: 01/15/2008 01:44 am »
Quite exciting. It's going to be really cool, seeing the blanks in the terrain filled in! But I suppose all the really big science questions will be answered in 2011...

Offline simonbp

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #34 on: 01/15/2008 02:34 pm »
Quote
Lampyridae - 14/1/2008  7:44 PM

Quite exciting. It's going to be really cool, seeing the blanks in the terrain filled in! But I suppose all the really big science questions will be answered in 2011...

Not necessarily, the close-approach images are high enough resolution to show far more detail than Mariner 10, and there should be some completely new data from the spectrometers and magnetometer...

Simon ;)

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #35 on: 01/15/2008 04:12 pm »
Messenger video on NASA TV now

Offline eeergo

Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #36 on: 01/16/2008 12:25 pm »

There's an approach movie posted in MESSENGER's site now (although it's only a composition of the images already posted, as far as I can see...) and, most important of all, a quite big image (though not extremely hig-res) of Mercury's uncharted territories! :)

Definetely a must-see:

-DaviD-

Offline Jeff Lerner

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #37 on: 01/16/2008 01:05 pm »
wow..great picture !!

Offline dwmzmm

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #38 on: 01/16/2008 02:20 pm »
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Wildthing - 16/1/2008  8:05 AM

wow..great picture !!

Bear's some resemblance to our own moon....
Dave, NAR # 21853 SR.

Offline jabe

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Re: NASA- MESSENGER updates
« Reply #39 on: 01/16/2008 02:37 pm »
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dwmzmm - 16/1/2008  10:20 AM

Bear's some resemblance to our own moon....

they do a great comparison of the Mercury pic and a Moon pic at the Planetary Society blog.  Well worth a read!!

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