Mercury's polar ice formation. Computer illustration illustrating the formation of Mercury's polar ice deposits. (A) High-latitude impact crater lit b
Mercury's polar ice formation. Computer illustration illustrating the formation of Mercury's polar ice deposits. (A) High-latitude impact crater lit by angled Sun rays creates a region of very warm temperatures on the rim, with lower temperatures on the floor, and extremely cold temperatures in regions of permanent shadow. (B) A comet or water-rich asteroid containing organic compounds impacts Mercury. (C) The water and organic compounds are spread over a wide region with a small fraction migrating to the poles where they become cold-trapped as ices. (D) Over time, water ice in the warmer regions vaporises, leaving more stable organic impurities at the surface. (E) The ice retreats further to a stable long-term configuration. In the coldest areas, water
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Photo credit: © NASA/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY/CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, artwork, asteroid, astronomical, astronomy, cold, comet, cosmological, cosmology, crater, deposit, deposits, distribution, formation, ice, illustration, impact, mercury, planet, planetary, polar, pole, poles, science, shadow, solar, space, sunlight, sunlit, system, temperature, temperatures, warm, water-rich
