Mercury Flyby 3 Options

[Greg Hullender]

We're now just one Mercury year (88 days) from flyby #3, which happens on September 29, 2009, so this seems like a good time to start a thread about it.

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/index.php

For comparison purposes, it'd be nice if someone (probably someone on the Messenger team) put together a Mercury Map showing what areas will get better coverage from this flyby than from the previous ones. I realize it'll be very similar to flyby #1, but it won't be exactly the same.

After that, it's a long wait until MOI on March 18, 2011. Curiously, that's the same date the New Horizons crosses the orbit of Uranus.

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/mission/passingpla...ets_current.php


--Greg

[Hungry4info]

I can understand Decepticon's father's request. With all this wonderful MESSENGER data, the Mariner 10 imagery seems... undesired.

[scalbers]

I can understand Decepticon's father's request. With all this wonderful MESSENGER data, the Mariner 10 imagery seems... undesired.

Greetings all. I can appreciate and muse about various aspects of this request. I did a MESSENGER only map for Emily I think with the first 2 flybys. The MESSENGER site used to show their map without the Mariner, though they now have it added in. From what I've seen so far the Mariner 10 imagery is still of higher resolution near longitude 135W and near the South Pole, so a "best of all" map should maybe still have it in. I tend to keep a long term view of historical context perhaps. Nonetheless it's interesting to see what a MESSENGER only map looks like and it can of course be compared to the "both" map (also with radar).

Right now I happen to be in between two vacation trips, but I'll consider this in a bit. It might be fairly simple to add a switch that turns off the Mariner and radar imagery in my IDL procedure.

Catch you later,

Steve

[tedstryk]

The Mariner 10 data that really looks different is the south polar mosaic because it is a 1970s creation. Making a clean, modern version of it is on my to-do list.