EXPLORING MERCURY by Emily Lakdawalla :M\]ZV to the M E RCU RY: N ASA / JH U A PL / CA R N EG IE IN ST. FO R SCIE N CE / JASO N PE R RY; D I AG R A M S: G R EGG D IN D E R M A N / S&T, G LO B E M A PS: N ASA / JH U A PL / CA R N EG IE IN ST. FO R SCIE N CE An ungainly stack of satellites is set to double the number of spacecraft that have visited Mercury. 22 p IRON PLANET This 66-image Messenger mosaic is roughly centered on the rayed crater Kuiper, just south of Mercury's equator. Long rays striate the globe, many tracing back to Hokusai along the limb at upper right. 5-:+=:A FAST FACTS u N OV E M B E R 2 018 * SK Y & TELESCOPE 8TIVM\ 0.01° 58 -223°C to 427°C (Earth: 23.5°) million km (0.39 astronomical unit) (coldest in shadowed polar craters) (Earth range: -88°C to 58°C) 5MIVLQ[\IVKM NZWU;]V ;]ZNIKM \MUXMZI\]ZM )`QIT \QT\