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Zone out for a second 🌀

This hypnotic video is actually a global color map of Mercury's surface,
created by mosaicking thousands of sets of images obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft's Wide Angle Camera.

The vibrant colors are related to the variations in how much of the Sun's energy its surface reflects at specific wavelengths,
a concept called spectral reflectance.

Credit:
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington #nasa #space #Mercury #solarsystem #spaceexploration

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Turn an eye to the sky this month!
There’s a lot to look out for at dusk and dawn,
such as:
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Venus in the hour after sunset ⁣
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Our Milky Way’s faint band at dusk ⁣
🔭The celestial quartet of the Moon,
Jupiter,
Mars and Saturn ⁣
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And more!
With so many of us staying at home these days,
it’s normal to feel cooped up.
If you’re feeling like that,
this might be a good time to remember that we’re IN space cruising on this pale blue dot with a vast three-dimensional universe all around us.
Just look out your window for an outstanding view!
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⁣ #NASA #Space #Venus #VirtualVacation #Planets #StarSailing

That's no moon.
Wait.
Actually,
it is.⁣
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Saturn's icy moon Mimas has an uncanny resemblance to the Death Star as seen in these images taken by our Cassini spacecraft that orbited Saturn from 2004-2017.
The large feature is called Herschel Crater.
Don't worry;
it's not a trap.⁣⁣
⁣⁣ #MayThe4thBeWithYou on this #StarWarsDay.
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Credits:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute⁣
⁣ #andalsowithyou #saturn #moons #nasa