Nobokov Crater

The crater Nobokov exhibits a rugged basin ring and degraded crater rim. The inset color image suggests that the basin floor may be of a slightly different composition than the surrounding material. The inset color image is a composite of the MDIS Wide Angle Camera filters with the 1000-nm filter depicted in red, the 750-nm filter depicted in green, and the 430-nm filter depicted in blue. The blueish hue in the color image reveals that Nabokov has a slightly shallower spectral slope than many of the younger volcanic terrains on Mercury.

Date acquired: January 10, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234661409
Image ID: 1246800
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -14.57°
Center Longitude: 55.18° E
Resolution: 137 meters/pixel
Scale: Nabokov crater is 166 km (103 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 62.7°
Emission Angle: 2.2°
Phase Angle: 60.5°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Fresh Impact Crater

This high-resolution image reveals the shape of a small, fresh crater on Mercury. In the inset color image, which is a composite of the MDIS Wide Angle Camera filters with the 1000-nm filter depicted in red, the 750-nm filter depicted in green, and the 430-nm filter depicted in blue, this crater is so bright relative to the surroundings that it appears to be close to the same size as the crater to its west. However, from this main image, it is clear that this bright crater is less than half the size of its neighbor. Small craters like this are extremely valuable scientifically, as they excavate material that has been sheltered from the harsh space environment and what is known as space weathering. By studying their spectral properties, scientists can begin to understand both the composition of the surface and how space weathering alters the uppermost surface of the planet.

Date acquired: August 02, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220762382
Image ID: 581250
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42.37°
Center Longitude: 8.06° E
Resolution: 45 meters/pixel
Scale: The small, fresh crater is about 3.5 km (2.2 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 67.2°
Emission Angle: 57.0°
Phase Angle: 124.2°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Chao Meng-Fu Crater

Because of the small axial tilt of Mercury's pole of rotation, several of the craters in this south polar image are shrouded in permanent shadow. Earth-based radar observations have found that these craters also host radar-bright material that is likely water ice. In the furthest southern portion of this image, the rim of the large crater Chao Meng-Fu rises from the darkness.

Date acquired: September 07, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 223925708
Image ID: 730957
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -86.25°
Center Longitude: 303.9° E
Resolution: 268 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is 385 kilometers (239 miles) from corner to corner.
Incidence Angle: 87.9°
Emission Angle: 7.1°
Phase Angle: 80.8°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury

The view shown here is similar to an earlier one, posted in October 2011, but now the coverage is more complete. The globe on the left was created from the MDIS monochrome surface morphology base map campaign. The globe on the right was produced from the MDIS color base map campaign. Each map is composed of thousands of images, and the color view was created by using 3 of the 8 color filters acquired. (1000, 750, and 430 nm wavelengths are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively.) On March 8, 2013, these global maps will be publicly released at full resolution by NASA's Planetary Data System.

Instrument: Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 75° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles).
Map Projection: orthographic

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Prokofiev Crater

Prokofiev, named in August 2012 for the Russian composer, is the largest crater in Mercury's north polar region to host radar-bright material. MESSENGER has found evidence that within the cold, dark, permanently shadowed regions of Prokofiev, water ice is exposed on the surface.

Date acquired: January 07, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 266090610
Image ID: 3288616
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 2 (700 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 84.90°
Center Longitude: 68.75° E
Resolution: 79 meters/pixel
Scale: Prokofiev has a diameter of 112 kilometers (70 miles).
Incidence Angle: 84.9°
Emission Angle: 6.1°
Phase Angle: 78.8°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Xiao Zhao Crater

The crater shown here is Xiao Zhao, a relatively young crater with a prominent system of bright rays. This image is extremely similar to one acquired previously, and that is by design. Certain features, like Xiao Zhao and locations with hollows, are being repeatedly imaged to look for any slight hints of change.

Date acquired: December 19, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264389643
Image ID: 3167776
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 10.64°
Center Longitude: 123.9° E
Resolution: 58 meters/pixel
Scale: Xiao Zhao has a diameter of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
Incidence Angle: 20.3°
Emission Angle: 40.8°
Phase Angle: 58.5°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury's Limb Near the Caloris Basin

This striking view is located near the rim of the large Caloris basin. The rim of Caloris is marked by hills and mountains, some of which can be seen in the distance in this image.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.

Date acquired: December 18, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264299214
Image ID: 3161641
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6°
Center Longitude: 149° E
Additional Location Information: The mountain on the horizon on the left side of the image is at roughly 13°, 152° E
Scale: The bottom of this image is about 210 kilometers (130 miles) across.

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury, Enhanced (2)

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.

Young crater rays, extending radially from fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material", thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The crater in the upper right whose rays stretch across the planet is Hokusai.

To see the other side of the planet view this image.

To watch a movie of this colorful view of Mercury as a spinning globe click here or visit the mission's Movie Page.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 320° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Map Projection: orthographic

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Mercury, Enhanced (1)

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.

Young crater rays, extending radially from fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material", thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The giant Caloris basin is the large circular tan feature located just to the upper right of center of the image.

To see the other side of the planet view this image.

To watch a movie of this colorful view of Mercury as a spinning globe click here or visit the mission's Movie Page.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 140° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Map Projection: orthographic

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Rachmaninoff Impact Basin

This is a still image taken from a rotating movie of Mercury's Rachmaninoff impact basin. An enhanced-color image has been draped over a digital elevation model of the surface. The vertical exaggeration is 7 times. The basin's outer rim is about 306 km in diameter and the inner (peak) ring is about 140 km in diameter. The smooth plains within the center appear tan in this presentation, emphasizing their compositional contrast with the dark, bluer rocks that form the peak ring mountains. Images from the Mercury Dual Imaging System on board NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft were processed to provide the color and elevation information used to create this view.

The color base map shown here consists of MDIS images taken through eight different color filters. It is part of a global color map that covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of about 1 kilometer per pixel.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 27.8°
Center Longitude: 58° E

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Note: For a video showing a 360-degree view of this impact basin, click here.

Mercury Global Map

A global color map of Mercury's surface has been created by mosaicking thousands of sets of images obtained by the MESSENGER Wide Angle Camera (WAC). The colors shown here are related to variations in the spectral reflectance across the planet. This view captures both compositional differences and differences in how long materials have been exposed at Mercury's surface. Young crater rays, arrayed radially around fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material," thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The large circular area near the top center is the Caloris impact basin, whose interior is filled with smooth, somewhat younger volcanic plains. Small orangish spots are materials deposited by explosive volcanic eruptions.

The color base map shown here consists of MDIS images taken through eight different color filters. It is part of a global color map that covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of about 1 kilometer per pixel.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS). This is an enhanced-color presentation created from a statistical combination of images taken through eight of the WAC filters.

Video credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington; text credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Note: Available on the original NASA webpage are two different size maps available for download: a smaller 6.5 MB video and a larger 23 MB video.

Stieglitz Crater

At the bottom of this image is a part of the rim of crater Stieglitz. Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer who lived from 1864 to 1946. His wife, painter Georgia O'Keeffe, is honored by a crater on the planet Venus.

Date acquired: July 21, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219733996
Image ID: 532053
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 74.73°
Center Longitude: 66.86° E
Resolution: 108 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater at the top of the image is about 26 km (16 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 78.3°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 78.3°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Ahmad Baba Basin

Today's image is a view of Ahmad Baba, a classic Mercurian peak-ring basin. Ahmad (Ahmed) Baba was a West African writer who lived from 1556-1627. The Malian city of Timbuktu is home to the Ahmed Baba Institute, a library and research center named in his honor. The Institute is home to over 18,000 ancient manuscripts.

Date acquired: December 14, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 232373246
Image ID: 1136317
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 58.43°
Center Longitude: 231.7° E
Resolution: 250 meters/pixel
Scale: The basin's main ring is about 126 km (78 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 71.5°
Emission Angle: 0.5°
Phase Angle: 71.0°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Southern Hemisphere Craters

The set of images shown here in color was acquired as part of a sequence intended to monitor any changes in the calibration of the multispectral Wide Angle Camera over time, but it also gives a beautiful view of Mercury's cratered southern hemisphere. The craters Magritte, Neruda, and Sher-Gil can be spotted within this scene. North is to the top-left of the image.

Date acquired: December 17, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264237810, 264237814, 264237830
Image ID: 3157538, 3157539, 3157543
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, and 6 (996, 748, and 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: -59.16°
Center Longitude: 149.3° E
Resolution: 1,663 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is over 1,900 km (1,180 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 59.2°
Emission Angle: 28.8°
Phase Angle: 78.1°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Peaks from an Unnamed Crater

The central peaks of an unnamed 38-km crater fill this scene. The sun is coming from the left side of the frame, so that the peaks cast their shadows to the right. North is to the right in this image.

Date acquired: December 15, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264103036
Image ID: 3147414
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 76.84°
Center Longitude: 139.9° E
Resolution: 12 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is 13 km (8 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.0°
Emission Angle: 12.6°
Phase Angle: 71.2°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Atget Crater

Though Mercury is not known for having an especially colorful surface, some regions show a strong local contrast in color. Like other craters in Caloris, the interior and ejecta of Atget are darker and bluer than the typical brown volcanic plains. These craters help scientists to get a look at the three-dimensional compositional variations with the Caloris basin, and provide a way to judge the thickness of the volcanic plains (over 2 km here!). North is up in this image.

Date acquired: December 09, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 263555174, 263555178, 263555194
Image ID: 3108404, 3108405, 3108409
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, and 6 (996, 748, and 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: 25.92°
Center Longitude: 166.2° E
Resolution: 224 meters/pixel
Scale: Atget is 100 km (62 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 25.9°
Emission Angle: 52.6°
Phase Angle: 78.5°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Sibelius Crater

The central peaks of Sibelius crater are not actually so central, but instead are offset to the southwestern side of the crater. The smooth, flat surfaces surrounding the peaks are composed of solidified impact melt, which pooled in the crater floor and outside the rim but is concentrated to the northeast. These observations suggest that the impactor that formed Sibelius came at an oblique angle from the southwest, with central peaks offset up-range and melt splashing out of the crater down-range. The crater is still largely circular, as only the very shallowest impact angles result in oblique craters such as Hovnatanian. North is up in this image.

Date acquired: December 05, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 263234346
Image ID: 3085867
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -48.83°
Center Longitude: 213.9° E
Resolution: 155 meters/pixel
Scale: Sibelius crater is 92 km (57 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 60.3°
Emission Angle: 35.9°
Phase Angle: 32.8°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Crater in Caloris Basin

You may have noticed that one of the details we give for each image is the Mission Elapsed Time, or MET, of when it was acquired. MET is the time, in seconds, since the MESSENGER mission began in 2004. As a testament to how long MESSENGER has been in space (over eight years!), the number of seconds has added up to over 250 million, and has come close to reaching the limit of how high the spacecraft clock can count. Thus in January, the MESSENGER team reset the clock, starting over at a time of 1,000 seconds. Why 1,000 seconds rather than zero? The MET clock was originally set to start counting 1,000 seconds before launch, so that launch was actually at an MET of 1,000 rather than zero; the clock reset follows that precedent.

Today's image was acquired at an "MET" of 129,781 seconds, or a day and a half after the count started over. This image shows an interesting crater in the Caloris basin. Craters of irregular shape are often thought to be formed from processes other than impact events, but this crater could be a cluster of several smaller craters or its shape could have been modified by the wrinkle ridge that crosses the scene from northwest to southeast. North is up in this image.

Date acquired: January 10, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 129781
Image ID: 3302953
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 28.08°
Center Longitude: 144.6° E
Resolution: 28 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 28 km (17 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.1°
Emission Angle: 0.7°
Phase Angle: 76.4°

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Kipling Crater

The Kipling crater was originally circular, but that changed when the crater in this image was formed. Situated atop (and so postdating) the southern margin of Kipling, this smaller, younger crater has a distinctive central peak that is encircled by a curious, near-circular depression. This depression may be a volcanic pit, like others that dot the surface Mercury -- one of which even occurs in Kipling. The smooth floor of this crater shows subtle evidence of tectonic deformation, like that seen in many other infilled craters across the planet.

Date acquired: January 03, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234068866
Image ID: 1218101
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -20.83°
Center Longitude: 73.02° E
Resolution: 104 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is ~88 km (55 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 67.2°
Emission Angle: 58.7°
Phase Angle: 28.2°
North is to the bottom-right corner of this image.

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Low Scarp

The surface of Mercury has been extensively deformed by tectonic activity, with most of that activity due to the global-scale contraction of the planet as its interior cooled. This tectonic deformation is largely manifest as contractional lobate scarps, many of which are hundreds or even thousands of meters high. This image shows a scarp only ~150 m (500 ft.) high, considerably smaller than many of its peers across the planet. This structure's relatively small size suggests either that it accommodated but a relatively small amount of deformation over its lifetime, or that it is one of the youngest lobate scarps on Mercury.

Date acquired: April 04, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234154717
Image ID: 1222306
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 29.31°
Center Longitude: 91.01° E
Resolution: 46 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater to the top right is ~18 km (11 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 51.6°
Emission Angle: 14.5°
Phase Angle: 38.1°
North is to the bottom-right corner of this image.

Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington