Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2022 June 28
     [2]The featured image shows the heavily cratered surface of Mercury
      with parts of ESA's and JAXA's passing robotic BepiColombo in the
    foreground. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                      Mercury from Passing BepiColombo
     Image Credit & [3]License: [4]ESA, [5]JAXA, [6]BepiColombo, [7]MTM

   Explanation: Which part of the Moon is this? No part -- because this is
   the [8]planet Mercury. Mercury's [9]old surface is heavily [10]cratered
   like that of [11]Earth's Moon. Mercury, while only slightly larger than
   [12]Luna, is much denser and more massive than any [13]Solar System
   [14]moon because it is made mostly of [15]iron. In fact, our Earth is
   the only planet more dense. Because [16]Mercury rotates exactly three
   times for every two orbits around the Sun, and because Mercury's orbit
   is so [17]elliptical, visitors on Mercury [18]could see the Sun rise,
   stop in the sky, go back toward the rising horizon, stop again, and
   then set quickly over the other horizon. From Earth, [19]Mercury's
   proximity to the Sun causes it to be visible only for a short time just
   [20]after sunset or just before sunrise. The [21]featured image was
   captured last week by [22]ESA and [23]JAXA's passing [24]BepiColombo
   spacecraft as it [25]sheds energy and [26]prepares to orbit the
   innermost planet starting in 2025.

              Tomorrow's picture: solar system family portrait
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [38]Robert Nemiroff ([39]MTU) & [40]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([41]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [42]Specific rights apply.
              [43]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2206/Mercury_BepiColombo_2049.jpg
   3. https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://global.jaxa.jp/
   6. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo
   7. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/Mercury_Transfer_Module
   8. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mercury/in-depth/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170723.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040912.html
  11. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-the-moon/en/
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140113.html
  13. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/in-depth/
  14. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/overview/
  15. https://youtu.be/uAMMQv0rKFI
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)#Orbit,_rotation,_and_longitude
  17. https://www.geogebra.org/m/DeQuAjRQ
  18. https://allthingslearning.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/dogs_surprised.jpg
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191202.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160717.html
  21. https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_20-24_June_2022
  22. https://www.esa.int/
  23. https://global.jaxa.jp/
  24. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/bepicolombo/in-depth/
  25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist
  26. https://sci.esa.int/web/bepicolombo/-/56015-missions-to-mercury
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220627.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  36. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220628
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220629.html
  38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  40. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  41. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  44. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/