 Click on image to enlarge. | Smooth Around the EdgesRelease Date: June 11, 2012 Topics: Complex Craters, Mosaics, Smooth Terrain |
Date acquired: May 06, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 244833470, 244833472, 244833474, 244833476
Image ID: 1777209, 1777210, 1777211, 1777212
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 61.8°
Center Longitude: 223.5° E
Resolution: 16 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater has a diameter of approximately 18 km (11 miles)
Incidence Angle: 64.0°
Emission Angle: 4.7°
Phase Angle: 59.2°
Of Interest: The mosaic of NAC images shown here allows us to view this unnamed crater in detail. This complex crater displays terraced walls and central peaks. Outside of the crater rim, the surface appears to be smooth, contrasting with the rougher interior of the crater. The resolution of this image, at 16 meters/pixel (52 feet/pixel), is among the highest that MDIS has acquired of Mercury's surface.
This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.
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, MESSENGER acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a yearlong extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 244833470, 244833472, 244833474, 244833476
Image ID: 1777209, 1777210, 1777211, 1777212
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 61.8°
Center Longitude: 223.5° E
Resolution: 16 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater has a diameter of approximately 18 km (11 miles)
Incidence Angle: 64.0°
Emission Angle: 4.7°
Phase Angle: 59.2°
Of Interest: The mosaic of NAC images shown here allows us to view this unnamed crater in detail. This complex crater displays terraced walls and central peaks. Outside of the crater rim, the surface appears to be smooth, contrasting with the rougher interior of the crater. The resolution of this image, at 16 meters/pixel (52 feet/pixel), is among the highest that MDIS has acquired of Mercury's surface.
This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.
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, MESSENGER acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a yearlong extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support 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.