Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Dec 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.u11c..04z&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #U11C-04
Mathematics
Logic
5420 Impact Phenomena, Cratering (6022, 8136), 5475 Tectonics (8149), 6235 Mercury
Scientific paper
During the first flyby of Mercury by the MESSENGER spacecraft on January 14, 2008, the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) obtained a 3200-kilometer-long profile that spanned approximately 20% of the near- equatorial region of the planet. Topography along that profile is characterized by a 5.2-kilometer dynamic range and approximately 1-kilometer root-mean-square roughness. Sampled craters are shallower than their counterparts on the Moon, at least in part because of Mercury's higher gravity. Crater floors vary in roughness and slope, which suggests complex modification over a range of length scales. However, the various contributions to crater geometry and the general nature of crater modification have been poorly constrained because no spacecraft images are yet available in the profiled hemisphere. On October 6, 2008, MESSENGER will make its second flyby of Mercury, with closest approach also near the equator but about 170° east of the earlier flyby. Closest approach distances are about 200 km in both cases, and a profile of comparable length to profile 1 is expected from flyby 2. The collective altimetry data, combined with high-resolution and color imaging of both profile regions, will contribute toward understanding Mercury's long- wavelength shape and the geological and geophysical processes that have operated at the planet's surface.
Barmouin-Jha O.
Hauck Steven A.
Head James W.
Johnson Clifton L.
Lemoine Frank G.
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