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