Water On Mercury: NASA Announces Discovery Of Ice At Planet's Poles QuoteNASA announced Thursday that its Messenger probe has discovered new evidence of water ice on Mercury.
In the announcement, Sean Solomon, principal investigator for the Mercury Messenger program, said the probe had uncovered new evidence that deposits in permanently shadowed regions of Mercury's poles is water ice. The ice is found predominantly in impact craters, according to data obtained by Messenger.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/nasa-announcement-mercury-messenger-live-video_n_2212462.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/nasa-announcement-mercury-messenger-live-video_n_2212462.html)
I would almost be suprised if they didn't find evidence of water on every celestial body in the galaxy.
I think you will find water is like standard issue... :D
Sometimes above or in the surface, and at other times below the surface internally in a celestial body.
Just because we may not be unable to see or detect water, doesn't mean to say that celestial body doesn't have water.
After all it is Hydrogen Oxide. (rusty Hydrogen... :D)
I was aware that Mercury was the closest and I assume the hottest Planet in our Solar system....But thought that only applied to its side facing the Sun....I couldn't recall if it rotated or not on its Axis..
But on a 88 day orbit... and in two orbits ( thats about 176 Mercury / Earth days ...( almost 6 month of Earth time.. I Think !)
it rotates on its axis only 3 times....so it is a slow rotation...
Therefore towards its far side of the Sun it would be very cold...
and near to the poles... if its Axis of rotation is not tilted... then near to the poles... the facing side and far side will be a mix of hot and cold I would think ! but maybe the poles would be warmer at their far sides than that of the equator...
So This I imagine could keep any water on the far side at the poles at a more constant temperature..even if still ice !....
but its orbit is eccentric...ie not fully circular... more eliptic..or off set from its centre.... :P
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Mercury is the innermost planet in the Solar System. It is also the smallest, and its orbit is the most eccentric (that is, the least perfectly circular) of the eight planets.[a] It orbits the Sun once in about 88 Earth days, completing three rotations about its axis for every two orbits. The planet is named after the Roman god Mercury, the messenger to the gods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28planet%29
Distance from the Sun is only one of the components which can affect the temperature of an environment, on a celestial body in our solar system.
Things are far more complex than we know.
Temperature can also be affected, by Gravitational forces from outside, i.e. affected through the stretching and pulling on our planet by its orbiting moon.
Our seas have tidal affects due to both the Sun and Moon.
So too it is within the Planet itself, affecting pressures on / in its mass.
Heat is generated "Internally" in a celestial body governed by many different factors.
Today, it is believed by Science the "core temp" of our planet is about 5,430 °C + (but may even be Higher than this)
The orbiting Moon also has an affect on our Axis. (Wobble or Precession)
The actual make up of a celestial body also has a large input especially its atmospheric make up.
Rotational speed also plays a part in this too.
So we can't assume that planets closer to the Sun will be hotter than those further away.
Because it is also determined by the heat being generated Internally as well as the flow of energy in either direction in the celestial body.
So yes Mercury could have Ice present.
Likewise some of the Larger celestial bodies may be hotter internally than expected.
Measuring Temp. from an external source is Not reliable.
Quote from: The Matrix Traveller on November 30, 2012, 02:44:04 AM
After all it is Hydrogen Oxide. (rusty Hydrogen... :D)
Or alternatively burnt (oxidised) hydrogen, the commonest element in the Universe. There must be an awful lot of it around. ;)