Mickey Mouse 'found' in large crater on Mercury
Published Jun 17 2012, 23:34 BST | By Tom Eames
Mickey Mouse has been 'found' on the planet Mercury.A collection of large overlapping craters bear a resemblance to the iconic Disney character on the surface of the planet.
The craters were discovered on the southern hemisphere of Mercury, northwest of a larger crater known as Magritte.
The largest crater making up Mickey's 'head' measures at around 65 miles (105 kilometers) across.
The photo was taken during NASA's Messenger probe, which aims to collect images when the sun is near the horizon.
During these times, the sun produces long shadows that bring up smaller features on the planet's surface.
The Messenger spacecraft was the first to orbit Mercury in March 2011. It was recently given a one-year extension until March 2013 after having already collected nearly 100,000 images.
The Magritte crater's daytime temperatures rise to around 400°C (752°F), while it drops to as low as -200°C (-328°F) at night.
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Looks like a big smiley face to me.
June 18th 2012 at 10:06pm
Since all planets (including Earth) have been hit by thousands of asteroids over the last millennia, the odds are very high that most of the planets and moons in the solar system have a 'Mickey' somewhere. Even our moon probably has a few - three asteroids hitting roughly the same area is all it takes. The 'Mickey' head is just such a simple form that it occurs by accident a great deal. Stand outside in the rain for a while and see how long it takes for a 'Mickey' head to form on the pavement... it's the same process over a much shorter time period.
June 18th 2012 at 9:05pm
Prometheus...are you seeing this?...
June 18th 2012 at 7:48pm(+3 likes)
Do you think he's looking for PLUTO??????
June 18th 2012 at 7:43pm(+4 likes)
These Hidden Mickeys are getting waaaaaaaaaaaaay out of hand.
Although I've long thought space shuttles look a bit like Mickey Mouse:
http://0.tqn.com/d/space/1/0/w/j/S81-31913.jpg
June 18th 2012 at 5:20pm