What can we learn about Mercury’s surface during the eclipse?
A telescope aboard a pair of research jets will make a thermal map of the planet during the eclipse
FIRST ROCK FROM THE SUN NASA’s Messenger spacecraft orbited Mercury for four years, giving an unprecedented view of its surface, including this enhanced view of the chemicals and minerals that coat it. A mission during the 2017 total solar eclipse will take a deeper look at the planet.
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
On the morning of August 21, a pair of jets will take off from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to chase the shadow of the moon.