Date acquired: April 15, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 2113702871, 211370291, 211370307
Image ID: 134764, 134765, 134769
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 9 (1000 nanometers), 7 (750 nanometers), 6 (430 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -3.54°
Center Longitude: 275.7° E
Resolution: 953 meters/pixel
Scale: A scale bar of 250 kilometers is given on the image
Incidence Angle: 39.3°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 39.4°
Of Interest: In addition to the
surface morphology base map, MDIS is currently acquiring a color base map during the mission's first 176 days. The color base map is composed of WAC images taken through eight different narrow-band color filters and will cover more than 90% of Mercury's surface at an average resolution of 1 km/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel) or better. In contrast to the imaging conditions best suited for seeing surface topography, the highest-quality color images of Mercury's surface are obtained when both the spacecraft and the Sun are overhead and shadows are limited. The eight different color filters of the WAC that are used to create the color base map have central wavelengths of 430, 480, 560, 630, 750, 830, 900, and 1000 nm. The images acquired through these narrow-band filters are combined to create color images that accentuate color differences on Mercury's surface. As an example, this image was created by using three images acquired as part of the color base map with the central wavelengths of 1000, 750, and 430 nm displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively. The bright, rayed crater is Snorri (21 km diameter).
The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's
seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the
Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
For information regarding the use of MESSENGER images, see the image use policy.