MESSENGER probe unlocks mysteries of Mercury

Mercury has possessed a magnetic field for billions of years. field may have once been as strong as the Earth. Mercury is the solar system's smallest and innermost planet. It was an enigmatic world for years. The mysteries of Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, are continuing to be unraveled even after the probe smashed into the planet last month. Before it ran out of fuel and made its fatal plunge into Mercury, MESSENGER flew close to the planet and used its magnometer to collect information about the levels of magnetism in Mercury's surface rocks. The Mariner 10 spacecraft had revealed that Mercury possessed a magnetic field similar to Earth's, albeit one that is about 100 times weaker. The motion of liquid metal deep inside Mercury's core generates the planet's magnetic field, much the same way Earth's field arises. Mercury is the only rocky planet besides Earth in the solar system with such a magnetic field. That conclusion sheds light on the planet's composition and structure and how it may have cooled and evolved over time. MESSENGER's other discoveries about Mercury are hollows on its surface, evidence of volcanism and polar deposits of water ice
last. The scientists detailed their findings online May 7 in the journal Science..

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