By combining images taken through different filters in the visible and infrared, the MESSENGER data allow Mercury to be seen in a variety of high-resolution color views not previously possible. MESSENGER's eyes can see far beyond the color range of the human eye, and the colors seen in the accompanying image are somewhat different from what a human would see.
Bailey, D., Bailey, S. & Hufford, M. (1996) Copperheads Smell Like Cucumbers. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/cmns001450/. Bailey, Dave, Sherman Bailey, and Mary Hufford.
It is richly suggestive, conjuring thoughts of poisonous snakes like copperheads, water moccasins and rattlesnakes. So perhaps it is not surprising that my reference to eastern garter snakes as â mildly venomous â in a Spring Time post a few weeks ago troubled some readers.