NASA says Mercury has lots of ice

[okdude123]

Thought this was very interesting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/sc...s-suggest.html

[Chris Gerhard]

That is a counterintuitive discovery for a place that also ranks among the hottest in the solar system. At noon at the equator on Mercury, the temperature can hit 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

But near Mercury’s poles, deep within craters where the Sun never shines, temperatures dip to as cold as minus 370.

Wow, I thought we had some pretty harsh temperature variances here on Earth.

[okdude123]

Originally Posted by Chris Gerhard

Wow, I thought we had some pretty harsh temperature variances here on Earth.

Yeah, that surprised me too.

[Rick-F]

WOW!

Sean C. Solomon, the principal investigator for Messenger, said there was enough ice there to encase Washington, D.C., in a frozen block two and a half miles deep.

Oh, how I wish someone could do that!!

[Chris Gerhard]

Originally Posted by Rick-F

WOW!

Sean C. Solomon, the principal investigator for Messenger, said there was enough ice there to encase Washington, D.C., in a frozen block two and a half miles deep.

Oh, how I wish someone could do that!!

Yes, I suspect the guy making the comment likes the thought as well. That use for the ice is so much better than using the ice to encase St. Louis, no excitement whatsoever, but bring Washington D.C. to a frozen standstill, there would be dancing in the streets.

[Rick-F]

2.5 miles of Ice . . . all that hot air would melt it in a week . . .

[okdude123]

Originally Posted by Rick-F

WOW!

Sean C. Solomon, the principal investigator for Messenger, said there was enough ice there to encase Washington, D.C., in a frozen block two and a half miles deep.

Oh, how I wish someone could do that!!

If they could do that, then no need to hear 24/7 about the "Fiscal Cliff" lol

[zip2play]

NASA says a lot of things to guarantee next year's funding.

[quad4.0]

Oh good news! I won't worry about running out now. Peole are dying from cancer, people are suffering from lack of food, and theres ice in Mercury

[oblioman]

Originally Posted by quad4.0

Oh good news! I won't worry about running out now. Peole are dying from cancer, people are suffering from lack of food, and theres ice in Mercury

Smack my freaking head. Does science scare you? Understand that one may think that planetary exploration is folly but NASA as a whole does serve a purpose. As for people starving today, it's more about politics than lack of food.