Data from the MESSENGER mission have been modelled to shed light on how certain types of comets affecting our smallest planetary neighbour Mercury affect small space rocks or micrometeoroids.

According to experts at NASA Goddard, simulations derived from variations in meteorite impacts reveal surprising patterns in the time of day when impacts occur: in the morning. Noting that there is more magnesium and calcium in the exosphere, the experts said that meteorite impacts are more common in the region of the planet where they occur at dawn. Next, the impact speed was taken into account, showing that meteoroids from asteroids would not move fast enough to produce the observed effects. Finally, meteoroids from two specific types of comets - the Jupiter family and the Halley-Type - were narrowed down to those with the necessary speed to match the observations.

Image description:

A mosaic of four images of Mercury using data from the Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer, or MASCS instrument, superimposed on data from the Mercury Binary Imaging System, or MDIS. The four circular faces of the planet are superimposed on a black square background. Each sphere is a multicoloured circle decorated with pinks, purples, turquoises, yellows and peaches.