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Explorations an Introduction to Astronomy Thomas T. Arny | ||||||||
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Chapter
Images
Chapter 8, Figure 8
Figure
8.8
Computer
simulation of collision between Mercury and a large planetesimal. The impact
strips away most of the rocky crust and leaves a highly distorted iron core
surrounded by some rocky debris. Gravity eventually reshapes the planet into
a sphere. (Based on a computer simulation, courtesy W. Benz, University of
Arizona; W. Slattery, Los Alamos;
A. G. W. Cameron, CFA.)
