It is common to see dark stains around craters on all the rocky planets.
Heat from the electrical discharge causes the scorching.
The picture looks better right way up.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messe ... index.htmlGamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS): This instrument will detect gamma rays and neutrons that are emitted by radioactive elements on Mercury's surface or by surface elements that have been stimulated by cosmic rays. It will be used to map the relative abundances of different elements and will help to determine if there is ice at Mercury's poles, which are never exposed to direct sunlight.
Gamma rays and high-energy X-rays from the Sun, striking Mercury's surface, can cause the surface elements to emit low-energy X-rays. XRS will detect these emitted X-rays to measure the abundances of various elements in the materials of Mercury's crust.
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/instruments/GRNS.htmlGRS measures gamma rays emitted by the nuclei of atoms on Mercury’s surface that are struck by cosmic rays. Each element has a signature emission, and the instrument will look for geologically important elements such as hydrogen, magnesium, silicon, oxygen, iron, titanium, sodium, and calcium. It may also detect naturally radioactive elements such as potassium, thorium, and uranium.
Let me know when you drop a lander down there and get a sample.MESSENGER found a lot of neutrons escaping from Mercury's dark patches, indicating a carbon presence known as graphite.
I've been learning to weld recently. Scorching around electrical discharges is definitely in my mindcomingfrom wrote: Heat from the electrical discharge causes the scorching.
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