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From the September 2009 issue

Will the Messenger probe to Mercury be able to get a photograph of the asteroid Icarus?

John Lockwood, Washington, D.C.
By Astronomy Staff | Published: September 28, 2009 | Last updated on May 18, 2023

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

Artist rendition of MESSENGER
Artist rendition of the MESSENGER space probe to Mercury.
NASA/JHUAPL/CIW

No. Icarus will be way too faint for MESSENGER’s instruments to observe it.

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