 Click on image to enlarge. | Paint Me a PictureRelease Date: July 25, 2014 Topics: Color Images, Craters with Dark Material, Hollows, Peak Ring Basins, Raditladi |
Date acquired: June 22, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 45761752, 45761748, 45761746
Image ID: 6547149, 6547147, 6547146
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: 28.37°
Center Longitude: 120.3° E
Resolution: 732 meters/pixel
Scale: Raditladi crater has a diameter of 257.7 km (160.1 miles)
Incidence Angle: 57.3°
Emission Angle: 38.5°
Phase Angle: 89.4°
Of Interest: This color view of Raditladi gives us a fresh view of the peak-ring basin. The bright hollows of Raditladi stand out in white along the peak ring against the smooth crater floor. These shallow depressions may result from the loss of volatile materials. Today's image also shows the darker ejecta of a crater that impacted the basin just above the southern peak-ring structure. The darker material was likely excavated during the small crater's impact.
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.
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 45761752, 45761748, 45761746
Image ID: 6547149, 6547147, 6547146
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: 28.37°
Center Longitude: 120.3° E
Resolution: 732 meters/pixel
Scale: Raditladi crater has a diameter of 257.7 km (160.1 miles)
Incidence Angle: 57.3°
Emission Angle: 38.5°
Phase Angle: 89.4°
Of Interest: This color view of Raditladi gives us a fresh view of the peak-ring basin. The bright hollows of Raditladi stand out in white along the peak ring against the smooth crater floor. These shallow depressions may result from the loss of volatile materials. Today's image also shows the darker ejecta of a crater that impacted the basin just above the southern peak-ring structure. The darker material was likely excavated during the small crater's impact.
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.