The BepiColombo spacecraft captured stunning images of Mercury, revealing canyons and craters bathed in infrared light, offering scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the composition and temperature of the innermost planet. These insights came from MERTIS (Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer) during the spacecraft’s fifth flyby.
The images not only showcased familiar craters like Bashō Crater in new perspective. The infrared vision allows scientists to see the heat radiating from Mercury’s surface. At the time of the flyby, the planet had reached a scorching 788° Fahrenheit (420° Celsius).
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