|
|
|
|
Mercury on September 26, 2003, 08:06 UT, about one hour after sunrise. Some subtle surface features appear to be visible in this image. The portion that is illuminated was mapped at high resolution by the Mariner 10 spacecraft.
Mercury is the only terrestrial planet that has not been completely mapped at high resolution and so there is a chance for someone using a backyard telescope to document featuers with a CCD camera that have not yet been seen up-close. Links Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), Mercury Section British Astronomical Association, Mercury and Venus Section Books "The New Solar System" edited by J. Kelly Beatty, Carolyn Petersen, and Andrew Chaikin |
|
All images are copyrighted by Thomas Williamson. No images may be used
without permission.
|
Mercury
in the Daytime Sky - August 30, 2003, 09:19 UT (15:19 MDT). Observing Mercury
as a crescent is difficult. Mercury was a
crescent and 9.75 arcseconds in diameter when this image was obtained under
difficult conditions. Mercury can be a
difficult object to locate in the daytime sky. At this phase, it was only
magnitude 1.4 and only slightly brighter than the sky. Mercury was at 20 degrees
eastern (evening) elongation, 20 percent illuminated and 9.75 arcseconds in
diameter. Seeing was poor and Mercury was at an altitude of only 54 degrees. 