Mariner 10 infrared radiometer results: Temperatures and thermal properties of the surface of Mercury
Abstract
Mariner 10 infrared brightness temperatures of the surface of Mercury at 11 and 45 μm are presented. The data were obtained during the first flyby along a nera-equatorial swath extending from 17 hours local time through local midnight to 9 hours local time. For an assumed emissivity of 0.9, derived surface thermal inertias are between 0.0031 and 0.0031 cal cm^(−2)sec^(−12) K^(−1) and the implied minimum predawn surface kinetic temperature for the warm pole at longitude 270° is near 93 K. Several pronounced thermal inhomogeneities were seen, one of which appears to coincide with a region of high radar reflectivity. The derived thermal properties and the electrical skin depth and loss tangent fall within the range of values found on the Moon.
Additional Information
© 1976 Elsevier Inc. Received 10 October 1975, Revised 5 January 1976. We thank Mariner 10 project personnel for their help in this experiment. Special thanks are due to J. Bennett for assistance in the data reduction, to T. Clarke and J. Engle for engineering and technical assistance, and to B. Gary for valuable discussions and critique. This paper presents the results of one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract NAS 7-100, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 74579
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170228-083331799
- NAS 7-100
- NASA
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
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2017-02-28Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field