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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       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   
      
                         Mercury from Passing BepiColombo   
                Image Credit & License: ESA, JAXA, BepiColombo, MTM   
      
      Explanation: Which part of the Moon is this? No part -- because this is   
      the planet Mercury. Mercury's old surface is heavily cratered like that   
      of Earth's Moon. Mercury, while only slightly larger than Luna, is much   
      denser and more massive than any Solar System moon because it is made   
      mostly of iron. In fact, our Earth is the only planet more dense.   
      Because Mercury rotates exactly three times for every two orbits around   
      the Sun, and because Mercury's orbit is so elliptical, visitors on   
      Mercury 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, Mercury's proximity to the Sun causes it to be   
      visible only for a short time just after sunset or just before sunrise.   
      The featured image was captured last week by ESA and JAXA's passing   
      BepiColombo spacecraft as it sheds energy and prepares to orbit the   
      innermost planet starting in 2025.   
      
                 Tomorrow's picture: solar system family portrait   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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