A Day on Mercury

NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) Probe has settled into orbit around Mercury.

Some of the measurements that have been taken are already generating debate among planetary scientists (more on this later in the week). But the MESSENGER team has also been at work creating very cool animations about what it is like on the surface of the closest planet to the Sun.

This one in particular caught my eye (shout out to Dr. Jay Wile that brought it to my attention). It shows what a day on Mercury would be like.

Sound boring? Well consider the fact that a day on Mercury takes more than half a year on Mercury, so the way the Sun moves through the sky is, well, pretty cool. You can learn more about the MESSENGER experiment and check out other cool videos here.

Image Credit: NASA