Happy Atheist Forum

General => Science => Topic started by: joeactor on March 22, 2012, 07:22:12 PM

Title: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: joeactor on March 22, 2012, 07:22:12 PM
http://gizmodo.com/5895518/frozen-water-found-in-scorching-hot-752f-mercury-hell

QuoteNASA's Messenger has found very strong indications of frozen water in Mercury. But how can there be frozen water in a hell like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, boiling at 752º Fahrenheit (400ºC)?

The answer is something called cold traps, areas of the surface of Mercury that are constantly cold because of the planet's position in relation to the Sun. This position makes some craters to have a permanent shadow, where the temperatures have remained low enough to retain the frozen water that was originally in the planet.
Title: Re: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: Tank on March 22, 2012, 07:23:09 PM
Now that's a bet I wouldn't have taken!
Title: Re: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: joeactor on March 23, 2012, 07:26:02 PM
Time for "Mercury Base Alpha"!
Title: Re: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: Tank on March 23, 2012, 07:26:48 PM
Quote from: joeactor on March 23, 2012, 07:26:02 PM
Time for "Mercury Base Alpha"!
That would be a hot assignment.
Title: Re: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: Ecurb Noselrub on March 23, 2012, 07:37:57 PM
Somewhere in the transition between freezing and 700 degrees you may find a true Shangri-La.  It's probably about 28 inches across.
Title: Re: Ice on Mercury?
Post by: joeactor on March 23, 2012, 07:45:42 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on March 23, 2012, 07:37:57 PM
Somewhere in the transition between freezing and 700 degrees you may find a true Shangri-La.  It's probably about 28 inches across.

Spacious!