Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
Mercury's Faults
Explanation:
The surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the planet Mercury [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is not without fault. In this case, however, "fault" refers to unusual surface features that are the topic of much speculation. The above fault line is called Santa Maria Rupes, and runs through many prominent craters. The meandering feature is thought to be the result of huge forces of compression on Mercury [ http://seds.lpl.ari…]'s surface. Such rupes probably originate from large impacts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and a general shrinking of Mercury [ http://bang.lanl.go…]'s crust, which in turn causes parts of the crust to push above other parts.
Credit and Copyright:
NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/], JPL [ http://stardust.jpl…], Mariner 10 [ http://bang.lanl.go…], Copyright Calvin J. Hamilton (LANL [ http://www.lanl.gov/])
facet_where:
Arizona
facet_where:
Mercury
facet_where:
Hamilton
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_what:
Mercury
facet_what:
Mariner
facet_what:
Mariner 10
facet_what:
Stardust
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap960121

Mercury's Faults
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