Tonka
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http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2011/11/01/ciencia/1320149404.html
Spanish to English translation
SPACE | Captured by the probe 'Messenger'
Mercury, like Swiss cheese
(Photo at the link)
The Messenger spacecraft has discovered unusual holes on the surface of Mercury.
The images released by NASA shows thousands of peculiar depressions located at different longitudes and latitudes , with a diameter ranging from 18 meters to over a mile, and with a depth of 18 to 37 meters. At the moment scientists do not know how these holes could have formed.
"These holes were a real surprise," says David Blewett, science team member of the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory).
"We have been thinking on Mercury as a relic, as a place that is not changing much, except for the formation of craters caused by impacts. But the holes seem to be newer than the craters in which they are, and that means that Mercury's surface continues to evolve in surprising ways " .
Extreme weather
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, so it is exposed to intense heat and extreme space weather. Blewett believes that these factors play a role.
A clue, says the scientist in a press release from NASA, is that many of the holes are associated with central mounds or mountains inside impact craters on Mercury.
"Certain minerals, such as those containing sulfur and other volatile elements would be easily vaporized by the heat, wind, solar and micro-meteoroids Mercury experience every day," says the scientist. "Maybe the sulfur is vaporized, leaving only the other minerals and, therefore, weakening the rock and making it more" spongy. "So, the rock would crumble and erode more quickly forming these depressions," the investigator.
Spanish to English translation
SPACE | Captured by the probe 'Messenger'
Mercury, like Swiss cheese
(Photo at the link)
The Messenger spacecraft has discovered unusual holes on the surface of Mercury.
The images released by NASA shows thousands of peculiar depressions located at different longitudes and latitudes , with a diameter ranging from 18 meters to over a mile, and with a depth of 18 to 37 meters. At the moment scientists do not know how these holes could have formed.
"These holes were a real surprise," says David Blewett, science team member of the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory).
"We have been thinking on Mercury as a relic, as a place that is not changing much, except for the formation of craters caused by impacts. But the holes seem to be newer than the craters in which they are, and that means that Mercury's surface continues to evolve in surprising ways " .
Extreme weather
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, so it is exposed to intense heat and extreme space weather. Blewett believes that these factors play a role.
A clue, says the scientist in a press release from NASA, is that many of the holes are associated with central mounds or mountains inside impact craters on Mercury.
"Certain minerals, such as those containing sulfur and other volatile elements would be easily vaporized by the heat, wind, solar and micro-meteoroids Mercury experience every day," says the scientist. "Maybe the sulfur is vaporized, leaving only the other minerals and, therefore, weakening the rock and making it more" spongy. "So, the rock would crumble and erode more quickly forming these depressions," the investigator.