This discovery image
affords the first evidence Mercury that naturally has a small satellite or
moon. Observable as a small bright spot in an image taken yesterday by the
Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Wide Angle Camera (WAC), the moon is
approximately 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter and orbits at a mean distance
Mercury of 14.300 km (8.890 miles). A proposal to name the moon
"Caduceus," Carried by the staff after the Roman god Mercury,
has
been submitted by the MESSENGER team to the International Astronomical Union,
the body responsible for assigning names to celestial objects.
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