Far-Out Guide to Mercury

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Mysterious Mercury—closest to the Sun, but second hottest—is one of the planets explored in this Far-Out Guide to the Solar System series, offering a multitude of facts to report-writers, focusing on what astronomers know, and the many perplexing questions still to be answered. Young researchers will learn that Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet (named for the Roman messenger of the gods), with a shrinking iron core that leaves its gray surface wrinkled and cratered. Because of the Suns intense light, this small planet has always been hard to study until astronomers began using radar telescopes in 1965. In one of the boxed Far-Out Facts scattered through the text, readers discover that tiny Mercury with its heavy iron core is the densest planet in our solar system. Three pages of Fast Facts add more information; for example, some of Mercurys dark craters may hold ancient frozen ice. A Mercury Timeline of Exploration and Discovery introduces a section about space missions that have taken a closer look at Mercury (no astronauts have landed). In 2004, space probe MESSENGER was launched, taking three-and-a-half years to make its first bypass of the planet; Carson affirms that, by combining photos with those of Mariner 10, astronomers have now seen ninety-five percent of Mercury. Illustrations are photos (color when possible), computer enhancements, paintings, and a cutaway. An especially interesting photo shows MESSENGERs sunshade of ceramic fabric that protects it from sunlight. What is next for Mercury? MESSENGER will relay data through 2011, and then a new international mission, BepiColombo, will be launched in 2014, orbiting to map Mercury, and study its magnetosphere. Included are a useful glossary and a list of books and websites about Mercury explorations, planet-watching, and the solar system., Children's Literature