Date acquired: April 26, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 9290850, 9290842, 9290838
Image ID: 3954216, 3954214, 3954213
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (996, 748, 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: -34.0°
Center Longitude: 221.1° E
Resolution: 559 meters/pixel
Scale: Bartok crater is about 117 km (73 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 40.8°
Emission Angle: 58.2°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
Of Interest: This stunning color image shows the complex crater
Bartok as well as the
limb of Mercury. The white spot to the right of Bartok in this image is the site of a young,
rayed crater approximately 11 km (7 miles) in diameter. North is to the bottom left in this image.
This image was acquired as a targeted high-resolution 11-color image set. Acquiring 11-color targets is a new campaign that began in March 2013 and that utilizes all of the WAC's 11 narrow-band color filters. Because of the large data volume involved, only features of special scientific interest are targeted for imaging in all 11 colors.
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. During the first two years of orbital operations, MESSENGER acquired over 150,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015.
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.