Unlocking the Secrets of Mercury’s Surface
MAY 07, 2012
A gamma-ray spectrometer is helping determine the elemental and mineral composition of Mercury’s surface.
Gamma-Ray Detector Unlocks Secrets of Mercury’s Surface
Get Inside the Science:
- LLNL gamma ray spectrometer aboard spacecraft due to start orbiting around Mercury
- Morgan Burks, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Inside Science Buzzwords:
- Gamma-ray - a high-energy electromagnetic wave, which can be released by atoms undergoing radioactive decays.
- Spectrometer - an instrument that can measure the range of energies in gamma rays released from radioactive atoms on the surface of Mercury.
- Cosmic ray - charged particles that originate in space.
