{"id":669267,"date":"2026-09-02T19:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T19:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/669267\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T19:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T19:32:27","slug":"mercurys-crust-may-hide-metal-beneath-its-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/669267\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury\u2019s Crust May Hide Metal beneath Its Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using a novel laboratory calibration, planetary researchers in Germany have produced the most reliable map yet of silica (SiO2) concentrations across the surface of Earth\u2019s Moon, and a first silica estimate for Mercury. Their study is built around the Christiansen Feature (CF), a spectral signature in the mid-infrared that shifts predictably with a material\u2019s silica content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER\u2019s primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up the planet\u2019s surface. Image credit: NASA \/ Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory \/ Carnegie Institution of Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe silica concentration in planetary surface materials is a fundamental geochemical indicator used to infer the nature and evolution of planetary crusts,\u201d said Dr. Christian Renggli, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, and colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a first-order measure of rock composition and the definition of lithologies, correlates with key mineral assemblages, and serves as a proxy for mineralogy and the degree of magmatic differentiation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the determination of the silica concentration on the Moon and Mercury by remote sensing observations has proven challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

For their new study, the researchers synthesized seven glasses spanning an extreme compositional range, from 0.5% to 97.6% silica.<\/p>\n

They then used these glasses to refine the mathematical relationship between CF position and silica abundance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe glass beads serve a similar function to calibration weights on a scale,\u201d said Dr. Iris Weber, a researcher at the University of M\u00fcnster.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir weight is known precisely. They therefore allow us to correctly interpret the scale\u2019s balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSimilarly, the glass beads allow us to draw the correct conclusions from the properties of the infrared radiation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applying this calibration to global data from NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner instrument, the scientists generated a silica map confirming the Moon\u2019s well-known split between silica-poor mare basalts (averaging under 46%) and silica-richer highlands (around 51%).<\/p>\n

Their approach detected unusually high concentrations \u2014 up to 76% silica \u2014 at unusual volcanic features including the Gruithuisen Domes, Hansteen Alpha, and the Lassell Massif, sites long suspected to resemble terrestrial rhyolite domes but never before quantified this precisely from orbit.<\/p>\n

The authors validated their results against soil and rock samples from the Apollo, Luna, and Chang\u2019e missions, finding generally strong agreement.<\/p>\n

According to the team, the calibration\u2019s usefulness extends beyond the Moon.<\/p>\n

Applying it to a decades-old Earth-based infrared measurement of Mercury, the researchers estimate the innermost planet\u2019s surface holds only about 37% silica \u2014 notably lower than earlier estimates derived from the MESSENGER spacecraft data.<\/p>\n

The finding hints that some of Mercury\u2019s silicon may exist in unusual metallic or carbide forms rather than typical silicate minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Moon is a kind of touchstone for us \u2014 and an important conceptual stepping stone on our way to Mercury,\u201d Dr. Renggli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur findings suggest that the volcanic rocks on Mercury formed from more deeply melted mantle material than previously assumed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s new method will be especially valuable once the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission\u2019s MERTIS instrument begins observing Mercury in detail after entering its science phase in 2027, and could even help characterize the surfaces of rocky exoplanets observed by the NASA\/ESA\/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now hope to confirm the low silicon dioxide content of Mercury\u2019s surface using data from the ESA\u2019s BepiColombo mission,\u201d the scientists said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn November of this year, the spacecraft, consisting of two separatable probes provided by ESA and JAXA respectively, is scheduled to enter orbit around the small planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results<\/a> appear this month in the journal Planetary Research.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Christian Renggli et al. 2026. The SiO2 abundance on the surfaces of the Moon and Mercury. Planetary Research 1 (1); doi: 10.53480\/bf74-m226<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Using a novel laboratory calibration, planetary researchers in Germany have produced the most reliable map yet of silica…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[1204,62852,12056,6599,18,6145,19,17,15518,157918,2660,62853,7163,10626,1024,133,282544,4279,10214,451,20991],"class_list":["post-669267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-planet","tag-bepicolombo","tag-crust","tag-earth","tag-eire","tag-esa","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jaxa","tag-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter","tag-mercury","tag-messenger","tag-metal","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-science","tag-silica","tag-silicon","tag-solar-system","tag-space","tag-spectrum"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117203118119952095","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}