March 25, 2019 - Modern View of an Ancient World
Modern View of an Ancient World We live in a unique period in the history of planetary exploration: worlds we never knew existed are being discovered, and other worlds, known since antiquity, are being explored for the first time up close. Mercury has always been an elusive target; its small size and its proximity to the Sun make ground-based observations difficult. Still, astronomers in the 1800s saw hints of surface features, and radar measurements in the 1960s confirmed its rotational period. Our first close look at Mercury didn’t come until Mariner 10 made its first of three flybys 45 years ago this week. This mosaic, taken from 200,000 km (125,000 mi) away, shows the brightly rayed crater Kuiper (just above center), the first fully recognizable feature on Mercury’s surface.
Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Weekly Calendar
March 25 - 31, 2019
Holidays - Sky Events - Space History
Monday 25
1655: Christiaan Huygens discovers Titan, moon of Saturn
1996: Comet Hyakutake closest approach to Earth
2000: IMAGE spacecraft launched
Tuesday 26
Jupiter 1.9° south of Moon
2009: Soyuz TMA-14 launched carrying ISS Expedition 19/20 crew
Wednesday 27
Mercury appears stationary
1969: Mariner 7 launched
1972: Venera 8 launched
1989: Contact lost with Phobos 2
1999: First Sea Launch mission
2015: Soyuz TMA-16M launched carrying ISS Expedition 43/44 crew
Thursday 28
Last Qtr Moon 12:10 AM ET
1802: Heinrich Olbers discovers asteroid Pallas
1963: Fourth Saturn C-1 rocket (SA-4) launched
2013: Soyuz TMA-08M launched carrying ISS Expedition 35/36 crew
Friday 29
Saturn 0.05° north of Moon
Pluto 0.3° south of Moon
1807: Heinrich Olbers discovers Vesta
1974: Mariner 10 first Mercury flyby
1989: Starfire 1 launched
2006: ISS Expedition 13 crew launched
Saturday 30
2017: SpaceX launches SES-10 satellite, first reflight of orbital-class rocket
Sunday 31
Moon at apogee
1962: NASA approves final design of Gemini spacecraft
1987: Kvant-1 module launched to Mir space station
1997: Pioneer 10 mission officially ends