Explore Mercury in Google Earth
Three Easy Steps to Explore Mercury in Google Earth
- Download and install Google Earth if you don’t already have it.
- Click HERE to open the Mercury KMZ File in Google Earth. Alternatively you can right-click HERE and choose "Save link as ..." to download the file. Launch the Google Earth Application and Open the Mercury KMZ File in Google Earth.
NEW! Take guided tours of the latest research with MESSENGER mission scientists!
- Follow the steps above to view Mercury in Google Earth [NOTE: To view these tours you must have the latest version of Google Earth (version 6.1). You can get version 6.1 HERE]
- Expand the MESSENGER BaseMap folder
- Expand the Mercury Dataset folder
- Expand one of the Tours (e.g. "Zurbuchen Tour") and click on "Play me!" to hear mission scientists talking about their latest discoveries on Mercury as you zoom over those areas of the planet
Some Useful Tips:
- Click on the image (left) to enlarge and see what your view might look like
- Turn off all the layers related to Earth in the lower left corner
- Turn off the Atmosphere under the View menu at the top
- Under Places in the upper left corner, make sure the Mercury Dataset and the Featured Data are both selected
- Named craters and other features on Mercury are marked by a circular marker
- Featured MESSENGER images are marked by a small picture of the spacecraft
- Click on either named features or MESSENGER images for more information
- Zoom in closer to see icons for named features. Click on them to view details!