Date acquired: October 01, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 257621379
Image ID: 2686510
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 37.02°
Center Longitude: 232.8° E
Resolution: 27 meters/pixel
Scale: Degas crater is 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 65.0°
Emission Angle: 9.7°
Phase Angle: 74.7°

Of Interest: This new image of Degas shows in great detail the cracks on the crater's floor caused by contraction during cooling. The bright areas on the central peaks are likely the result of fresher rock being exposed as more space weathered material slumps downhill.

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.