Date acquired: July 20, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219691659
Image ID: 529967
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 82.08°
Center Longitude: 103.1° E
Resolution: 85 meters/pixel
Scale: Image is approximately 88 km (55 mi) across.
Incidence Angle: 82.1°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 82.1°
Of Interest: This image shows impact craters of varying size and morphology. The crater with the visible central peak on the southern edge of the image displays spectacular
wall slumps, which form when material on the steep walls of the crater collapses. This crater also has
secondary craters and ejecta radiating from its center.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution surface morphology base map. The surface morphology base map will cover more than 90% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 250 meters/pixel (0.16 miles/pixel or 820 feet/pixel). Images acquired for the surface morphology base map typically have off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features.
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.