Mercury Faces Drastic Changes Due to Small Collisions

NASA scientists have shed the light on Mercury’s atmosphere. The scientists observed the earlier study that was happened in 2015- 2016 with the help of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft -- short for Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging. The scientists have tried to find out how certain types of comets influence the lopsided collisions of Mercury's surface by tiny dust particles called micrometeoroids.

The scientists stated that Mercury is our smallest planetary neighbor that has very little to call an atmosphere. However, it does have a strange weather pattern called morning micro-meteor showers. This study has proven the new perspective of how these micrometeoroid showers can shape Mercury's very thin atmosphere. This research was done by the NASA team of scientists led by Petr Pokorný, Menelaos Sarantos and Diego Janches of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The scientists added that this research is helpful to understand the speed at which comet-based micrometeoroids impact Mercury, further improving the accuracy of models of Mercury and its exosphere.

By: Priyanka Negi

Content: www.sciencedaily.com