Blue Velvet

At the center of this scene is an area of dark, deep blue terrain. MESSENGER scientists refer to this as the "Low Reflectance Material (LRM)." Besides being dark across all wavelengths, the LRM reflects less light at longer wavelengths than does average Mercury material. Our eyes perceive light at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum as red, and the short end as blue. Hence the LRM is said to have "blue" color relative to Mercury as a whole. Named craters in the scene include Kuiper, Yeats, Dominici, and Homer.

Date acquired: April 10, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 210935602, 210935622, 210935606
Image ID: 114272, 114277, 114273
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (996, 748, 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: -2.50°
Center Longitude: 316.5° E
Resolution: 975 meters/pixel
Scale: The scene is about 1040 km (645 mi.) wide.
Incidence Angle: 13.3°
Emission Angle: 14.7°
Phase Angle: 28.0°

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