 Click on image to enlarge. | High-Resolution View from Mercury Flyby 2Release Date: February 7, 2011 Topics: Crater Rays, Global Views, HD Resolution Images, Mercury Flyby 2, Mosaics, |
Date Acquired: October 6, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: The diameter of Mercury is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Of Interest: This high-resolution mosaic of NAC images shows Mercury as it appeared to MESSENGER as the spacecraft departed the planet after the mission's second flyby of Mercury. This mosaic resembles one of the first images received back at Earth following that flyby, an image that showed for the first time the spectacular rays of Hokusai crater extending great distances across Mercury's surface. The MESSENGER mission is on track to again make new discoveries and in 38 days to become the first spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury.
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: The diameter of Mercury is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Of Interest: This high-resolution mosaic of NAC images shows Mercury as it appeared to MESSENGER as the spacecraft departed the planet after the mission's second flyby of Mercury. This mosaic resembles one of the first images received back at Earth following that flyby, an image that showed for the first time the spectacular rays of Hokusai crater extending great distances across Mercury's surface. The MESSENGER mission is on track to again make new discoveries and in 38 days to become the first spacecraft ever to orbit Mercury.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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