 Click on image to enlarge. | Compositional MedleyRelease Date: August 2, 2012 Topics: Craters with Dark Material, Peak Ring Basins, Raditladi, Tectonics |
Date acquired: December 30, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 233730369
Image ID: 1201697
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 26.09°
Center Longitude: 118.7° E
Resolution: 47 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater shown above is 15 km (9 miles) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 39.6°
Emission Angle: 19.0°
Phase Angle: 29.4°
Of Interest: The crater in the image above lies within the peak ring of Raditladi basin; portions of the peak ring are visible in an arc shape along the bottom of this image. This crater appears to have excavated dark material upon impact, which is seen in beautiful contrast to the bright hollows along the peak-ring structure to the south. There are also several troughs just north of this crater, near the center of Raditladi.
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): 233730369
Image ID: 1201697
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 26.09°
Center Longitude: 118.7° E
Resolution: 47 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater shown above is 15 km (9 miles) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 39.6°
Emission Angle: 19.0°
Phase Angle: 29.4°
Of Interest: The crater in the image above lies within the peak ring of Raditladi basin; portions of the peak ring are visible in an arc shape along the bottom of this image. This crater appears to have excavated dark material upon impact, which is seen in beautiful contrast to the bright hollows along the peak-ring structure to the south. There are also several troughs just north of this crater, near the center of Raditladi.
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.