Uncharted Territory

This image, captured by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), shows a crater in a region of Mercury not seen by Mariner 10. This crater was first imaged during MESSENGER's Mercury flybys, but this is the first image to reveal its detailed morphology. The crater's name will be chosen in accordance with a set of rules established by the International Astronomical Union (available here). Craters on Mercury are named after deceased artists, musicians, painters or authors who have made outstanding contributions to their fields and who have been considered a historically significant figure for at least 50 years.

Date acquired: July 20, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219646866
Image ID: 527953
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6.70°
Center Longitude: 38.52° E
Resolution: 193 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is about 113 km (70 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 71.4°
Emission Angle: 15.1°
Phase Angle: 56.2°

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