Probe detects "spider" crater on Mercury
Louise Prockter, instrument scientist for the Mercury Dual Imaging System, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, discusses the 'The Spider' image, seen in the background, during a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington, January 30, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A NASA probe that shot past Mercury this month detected a puzzling geological feature that scientists on Wednesday labeled "The Spider" and found evidence of past volcanic activity on the closest planet to the sun.
The Spider" was the most striking feature described by the scientists. It is made up of more than 100 narrow, flat-floored troughs radiating from a central point, much as petals from a daisy or the legs of a spider.
"A REAL MYSTERY"
"The Spider" has a crater 25 miles wide near its center, but it is unclear whether this is related to the feature's original formation and scientists aren't sure what to make of it.
"It's a real mystery," said Louise Prockter of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, who works on the mission.
"The Spider" is in the middle of Mercury's Caloris basin, one of the solar system's biggest impact craters, formed more than 3.8 billion years ago when a large space rock hit.
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