The Messenger spacecraft has just whizzed by Mercury and taken some new photos.

On January 14, 2008, more than three decades after the third Mariner 10 flyby, the last spacecraft visit of Mercury, MESSENGER passed 200 kilometers above Mercury's surface. Extensive scientific observations were executed during this flyby encounter, including imaging a large portion of Mercury's surface that has never before been seen by a spacecraft.

Not many good ones yet but there should be more up soon.

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/picsMed/EN0108693445M.jpg?1200359362

are they sending a message to the sun or something?

Some cool pix n animation :D

The name 'MESSENGER' comes from “MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging,”

There are some cool new pix of jupiter taken by the new horizons probe that is on it's way to pluto... this one is a photochop but still pretty cool~!
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0801/jupiterio_newhorizons.jpg

also yesterdays apod was an awesome pix of a hurricane from the iss.

last edited by demon at 12:28:15 15/Jan/08

the engineering involved in designing and building these spacecrafts is just mind boggling...

I have been watching a lot of TED talks lately and i am loving the ones about privately owned space missions, realistic attempts at moon bases harvesting fuel for ships and other space/future of mankind kinda talks.

It's re-assuring to see that passionate people with the backing required are making deadlines (that are within next decade) to do all the things that NASA and co have not done in last 40 years. Maybe we will actually get somewhere instead of sitting here all vulnerable on 1 tiny planet all clumped together for the easy picking off by rogue blackholes and asteroids. It scares me to think that we came within 6 hours of total human extinction a few years ago.

Anyways, my hunger for space exploration is increasing by the day.

Also, TED is f***ing addictive. Found myself watching talks that i have watched 5 times before over last year or so.

also yesterdays apod was an awesome pix of a hurricane from the iss.

wow. that was pretty cool...

not a space pic, but still kinda fancy imo

http://www.boonahdrivingschool.com/random/PICT0022a.jpg

...we came within 6 hours of total human extinction a few years ago...

huh?

Massize asteroid that would have f***ed us up went through our orbit.

Was like 400,000km away or something but it was where we were 6 hours earlier.

Freaky.

Mercury detail shots!
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/picsMed/EN0108821483M.png?1200531171

edit: and APOD today is also of Mercury.

last edited by trog at 11:57:53 17/Jan/08