Kertesz Crater Anaglyph

This is an anaglyph created from two images of the crater Kertesz. By viewing images obtained from slightly different perspectives through red-blue glasses, the brain perceives a "3-D" image. The red lens should be on the left eye. With this anaglyph, better results may be achieved by tilting the head slightly to the left. The floor of Kertesz is covered with spectacular hollows. See more images of hollows here (scroll down to "Presenter #2").

Date acquired: July 31, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220634378 and 220591163
Image ID: 575037 and 573112
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 27.4°
Center Longitude: 146.1° E
Resolution: 17 meters/pixel
Scale: Kertesz crater is about 31 km (19 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 76.4° and 75.0°
Emission Angle: 30.3° and 40.9°
Phase Angle: 106.7° and 115.9°

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

Spanish Bombs

The small crater at the left side of this image is named for Juan de Mena, a Spanish poet of the 15th century. Mena has extensive bright rays, which can be better appreciated in the global map of Mercury (right on the equator, part way in from the left). Mena formed on the rim of an existing crater, which may help to explain the asymmetric pattern of Mena's rays.

Date acquired: April 19, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 211718303
Image ID: 151162
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -0.24°
Center Longitude: 236.3° E
Resolution: 254 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is about 138 km (85 mi.) wide.
Incidence Angle: 65.9°
Emission Angle: 22.3°
Phase Angle: 43.6°

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

Complex Craters

While many of the most spectacular craters on Mercury are young and rayed, the vast majority are older and have been modified by both internal and external forces over time. The large 90-km crater in this image has been deformed by a lobate scarp and battered by craters up to 30 km in diameter.

Date acquired: October 27, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 228200113
Image ID: 937596
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 5.65°
Center Longitude: 321.9° E
Resolution: 104 meters/pixel
Scale: The large crater in this scene is approximately 90 km (56 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 69.2°
Emission Angle: 66.8°
Phase Angle: 102.0°

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

Hollowed Crater

The crater at the center of this image is home to more of the "hollows" that dot Mercury's surface, which appear here as high-reflectance features near the crater's central peak and around its floor-wall boundary. This crater, which does not yet have an official name, was also seen in an early image that MESSENGER captured during the spacecraft's first imaging orbit around Mercury.

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 250-meter/pixel (820 feet/pixel) morphology base map or the 1-kilometer/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel) color base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution during MESSENGER's one-year mission, but several areas of high scientific interest are generally imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: October 21, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 227644286
Image ID: 911007
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -1.98°
Center Longitude: 354.1° E
Resolution: 337 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater at center is approximately 90 km (56 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 79.6°
Emission Angle: 56.2°
Phase Angle: 135.9°

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