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NASA scientists detect ice on Mercury

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    Exciting discovery on planet closest to sun

  • Duration 2:23
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-- NASA discovered.

On the planet Mercury that's the planet closest to the -- 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

-- Powell editor in chief -- Discover Magazine here to talk about this and -- good morning to you about they have found what they believe is ice.

Ice and organic material basically like tar balls.

On Mercury.

That's extraordinary it's bizarre this is the planet that's as close as it gets to the -- this is -- -- been -- how is that possible and -- the graphic gonna stream by the way everything you see in yellow was where they believe there are.

That ice or ice cap to explain why so that it's -- actually evidence is now really good so at the North Pole Mercury there craters that are always a shadow so and that Mercury has no atmosphere of so.

They can -- 800 degrees in one spot and then you go into the shade as 300 blows so everything that is yellow on that screen.

There's a giant crater I think in -- -- giant -- I don't know how Levine's how deep would that be if there are never.

Is never rather sunshine.

Well there's always in shadow of the incredible thing the Mercury is even if you're just like.

Ten feet out of the out of the sun.

And the temperature committee to be 300 below zero while it's -- baking unit to stay have just ten feet away so these places because they're always shadowed.

They're like deep freezers anything that ever falls in there it's frozen and stays there so.

What they think happened is -- -- millions of years ago some comets struck Mercury comets are made of ice and organic chemicals.

They vaporized they went into the deep freezer and they stayed there and they stand and they stay out they thought they saw ice there a hundred years ago or something right -- have -- themselves out of there.

Well what are -- figure was there then and the -- so people are doing studies with radar and ice reflects radar very definitely the rock and this is one thing is it's militarily as the solemn times it's not on the radar like.

That's where as America that can't be right they -- the spacecraft -- to look and there it is big question why does it matter.

Well if if it's not just Mercury what this tells you isn't that ice and organic chemicals are everywhere through the solar systems of the stuff that's landed on Mercury.

That has -- on earth that maybe what started life here.

And that stuff is landing.

Everywhere around us it means that the ingredients for life were everywhere else -- means that.

If you want to send a spacecraft there it got water in that chemicals you can refuel you couldn't do watch and it's been great for profits -- road trip.

Exactly thank you -- where to go fascinating stuff from NASA to -- pound back after this things.

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