NASA's MESSENGER probe beamed home the first photographs of the surface of the planet Mercury in more than three decades today, and the images gave astronomers a jolt. Giant neon red letters spelling the word "Mook" were discovered painted across a 200-foot wide span of the planet's surface.
News of the find prompted Pittsburgh police to arrest Michael Monack, 24, the South Side graffiti writer known as "Mook." Monack became notorious in 2001 after he taunted city workers by placing his tag in hard-to-reach public places. It is believed that Mercury represents the hardest-to-reach of the public places Monack has tagged.
Police have charged Monack with criminal mischief and defacing a planet.
