 Click on image to enlarge. | Mercury Grows Larger in MESSENGER's SightsRelease Date: October 5, 2008 Topics: Mercury Flyby 2, |
Date Acquired: October 4, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131638090
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 18 kilometers/pixel (11 miles/pixel)
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: 690,000 kilometers (430,000 miles)
Sub-spacecraft Latitude and Longitude: 1.6°N, 135.2°E
Of Interest: The fifth set of optical navigation images (one of which is shown here) look as planned as the MESSENGER spacecraft closes in on Mercury. The time of its closest distance to the planet is October 6, 2008, 04:40:22 am EDT. This image appears similar to the previous optical navigation images taken earlier but with the crescent-shaped Mercury growing larger and larger with each additional image set. Three more sets of optical navigation images are planned.
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131638090
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 18 kilometers/pixel (11 miles/pixel)
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: 690,000 kilometers (430,000 miles)
Sub-spacecraft Latitude and Longitude: 1.6°N, 135.2°E
Of Interest: The fifth set of optical navigation images (one of which is shown here) look as planned as the MESSENGER spacecraft closes in on Mercury. The time of its closest distance to the planet is October 6, 2008, 04:40:22 am EDT. This image appears similar to the previous optical navigation images taken earlier but with the crescent-shaped Mercury growing larger and larger with each additional image set. Three more sets of optical navigation images are planned.
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.