The ejecta of this fresh 20-km impact crater swept the surface, leaving beautiful bright rays. Crater rays fade with time as smaller impacts mix them into the surrounding soil and particles from the solar wind change the surface's chemistry. Given a little time (perhaps a million years or so), this crater will look like the other similar-sized craters in the frame.
Date acquired: November 17, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 230018573
Image ID: 1023529
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -51.0°
Center Longitude: 175.1° E
Resolution: 221 meters/pixel
Scale: The rayed crater is approximately 20 km (12 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 53.1°
Emission Angle: 37.8°
Phase Angle: 78.6°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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