Date acquired: March 24, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 6407391, 6407387, 6407385
Image ID: 3749435, 3749433, 3749432
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: 23.10°
Center Longitude: 256.8° E
Resolution: 492 meters/pixel
Scale: Mickiewicz crater is about 99 km (62 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 48.3°
Emission Angle: 33.5°
Phase Angle: 81.6°

Of Interest: This high-resolution color image highlights the bright peaks of Mickiewicz crater, named for the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. The peaks in the center of the crater's floor appear bright due to the presence of hollows - bright, shallow depressions etched on the surface. Peak-ring structures form in complex craters, which characteristically have broad, flat floors and uplifted centers.

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.