MESSENGER image released after all!

Posted By Emily Lakdawalla

2008/01/15 06:11 CST

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After much back and forth about whether this image was going to be received, and when it would be released, it was, in fact, released just now: our first view of the previously unseen face of Mercury!

I will have much much more to say about this image later tonight -- but as it's now past 5 pm my time and my hungry (and soon to be tired) baby has now come home, it'll have to wait a few hours. But I didn't want to let this image go so long before being posted -- so here it is, for you all to enjoy! I should be back with more about it after 9 pm my time. In the meantime, here's what the MESSENGER mission has to say about it. As for my 17-month-old daughter, her comment is: "Ball!"

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

First look at the unseen face of Mercury

This image was taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft at about 20:24 UTC on January 14, 2008, about 80 minutes after its closest approach to Mercury. Most of the face of Mercury visible in this image was not seen by Mariner 10.