Dark Halos Discovered on Mercury

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A picture of two craters in Caloris Basin. Credit: NASA
A picture of two craters in Caloris Basin. Credit: NASA

The surprises continue. Scientists studying the harvest of photos from the MESSENGER spacecraft's Jan. 14th flyby of Mercury have found several craters with strange dark halos and one crater with a spectacularly shiny bottom.


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All News summaries from Space & Earth science news
All News summaries for March 10, 2008

Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm

5 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Phoenix Lander over the weekend successfully weathered a regional dust storm that temporarily lowered its solar power, and the team is back investigating the Red Planet's northern plains. ...

Reservoirs promote spread of aquatic invasive species

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- The latest "damming" evidence suggests that manmade reservoirs are facilitating the spread of invasive species in Wisconsin lakes.

Ghostly glow reveals galaxy clusters in collision

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A team of scientists, including astronomers from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), have detected long wavelength radio emission from a colliding, massive galaxy cluster which, surprisingly, is not detected ...

Star Count Goes Global

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Schoolchildren, families and citizen scientists around the world will gaze skyward after dark from Oct. 20 to Nov.3, 2008, looking for specific constellations and then sharing their observations through the ...

21st century detective work reveals how ancient rock got off to a hot start

8 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
A new technique using X-rays has enabled scientists to play 'detective' and solve the debate about the origins of a three billion year old rock fragment.