0201 - 2025.06 Crack in Time

Mercury, closest to the sun, was always expected to be sunburnt, cracked and full of surprises.

Early Mariner flybys did not dispel this line of thinking, returned data suggesting a moon like surface, little atmosphere and extremes of day and night temperatures.

The later Messenger and BepiColombo visits added more detail, especially visual imagery. A molten core and volcanically formed craters and plains were no surprises.

Now looking for uncommon minerals that have formed as a result of endless cycles of searing heat and near-absolute cold, the latest survey had thrown in a paradox.

When this picture came back, a very small segment of a larger frame, the scientists thought it was a false colour image.

When it wasn’t, they asked why a crevasse would show the inside of the planet as blue. At the same time, the ion readings were unusual, unaccounted for by magnetospheric effects or the ring current previously measured.

They adjusted the orbit to pass the satellite directly overhead two months later.

They never heard from it again.

Technique: #digital
Theme: #abstract
Highlight colour: #red #yellow #purple

Series: #mini-sci-fi