Man in Moon, Mickey Mouse in Mercury?

Mercury Craters Look Like Mickey Mouse in NASA Photo

by SPACE.com Staff

Date: 18 June 2012 Time: 12:40 PM ET

Craters on Mercury appear to form the image of Mickey Mouse. This scene lies to the northwest of the recently named crater Magritte, in Mercury's south. The image is not map projected; the larger crater actually sits to the north of the two smaller ones. Date acquired: June 3, 2012. CREDIT: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washingto View full size image

Forget Pluto, a hidden Mickey Mouse lives on Mercury. A NASA spacecraft has captured a spectacular photo of Mercury craters arranged in a shape that looks just like Disney's iconic cartoon mouse.
The photo comes from NASA's Messenger spacecraft in orbit around Mercury and shows a giant crater topped with two smaller impact basins to create the recognizable shape.
"The shadowing helps define the striking 'Mickey Mouse' resemblance, created by the accumulation of craters over Mercury's long geologic history," Messenger mission scientists explained in an image description on Friday (June 15).

MORE: http://www.space.com/16181-mickey-mouse-mercury-craters-picture.html



gaw

Glenn A. Walsh, Project Director,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@planetarium.cc >
SPACE & SCIENCE NEWS, ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR:
  < http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Twitter: < http://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
Facebook: < http://www.facebook.com/pages/SpaceWatchtower/238017839577841?sk=wall >
Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
  < http://www.planetarium.cc >
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
  < http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
  < http://inclinedplane.tripod.com >
* Public Transit:
  < http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com/transit >