Watch space weathering happen! The recent solar storm had a dramatic effect on MESSENGER images of Mercury. In the image above, you can see bright streaks and speckles, with Mercury's surface faintly visible behind them. These streaks are energetic particles from the Sun hitting the camera's CCD. While great for illustrating the powerful solar event, images acquired during this period will have to be re-planned for later in the mission.
Date acquired: March 07, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 239584591
Image ID: 1484381
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -36.55°
Center Longitude: 298.76° E
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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