Faulkner Crater

Relatively young smooth plains fill and partially bury Faulkner crater, leaving only the northern three-quarters of its degraded rim visible. These smooth plains, which have relatively few superposed craters and appear tan in this image, were likely emplaced as volcanic flows that breached Faulkner's southern rim, leaving only the highest-standing terrain intact.

Date acquired: January 19, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 878881, 878901, 878885
Image ID: 3356193, 3356198, 3356194
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: 8.61°
Center Longitude: 77.37° E
Resolution: 299 meters/pixel
Scale: Faulkner crater is approximately 168 km (104 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 36.5°
Emission Angle: 43.6°
Phase Angle: 78.1°
North is up in this image.

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

Balzac, Phidias, Tyagaraja, Stevenson, and Zeami Craters

This oblique view highlights, from top to bottom, Balzac, Phidias, Tyagaraja, Stevenson, and Zeami craters. While named craters are still sparse across much of Mercury, this region was observed by Mariner 10, allowing for plenty of time to propose names. In Mariner 10 images of Mercury, craters like Tyagaraja and Zeami were described as hosting bright floor deposits, but the relatively low resolution at which they were imaged did not allow for a more detailed analysis. We now know that craters such as these host hollows (see the links above for higher resolution images of each crater in this scene).

Date acquired: November 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262401199, 262401219, 262401203
Image ID: 3026482, 3026487, 3026483
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: 4.64°
Center Longitude: 210.5° E
Resolution: 698 meters/pixel
Scale: Tyagaraja crater (center) is approximately 97 km (60 mi.) in north-south diameter
Incidence Angle: 30.2°
Emission Angle: 57.5°
Phase Angle: 83.8°
North is up in this image.

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

Botticelli Crater

Today's featured image highlights the first set of color images from a new imaging campaign: minimum-phase-angle color. Near the north polar region, the incidence angle (measured from the vertical) is always high because the Sun is low on the horizon. The minimum-phase-angle color campaign acquires images from as close to the direction of solar illumination as possible, which minimizes the phase angle and thus the shadows in a given area. Images are acquired through five of the WAC's narrow-band color filters, for regions north of 60° N, at an average resolution of 500 meters/pixel.

With this imaging campaign, the MESSENGER team will be searching for spectral differences among Mercury's northern smooth plains and the ejecta of craters that could indicate compositional differences. In today's image you can see a portion of Botticelli crater, which does not appear to have a strong color contrast from its surroundings.

Date acquired: March 21, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 6148727, 6148718, and 6148724
Image ID: 3731063, 3731060, 3731062
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: 62.14°
Center Longitude: 248.1° E
Resolution: 316 meters/pixel
Scale: Botticelli crater is approximately 120 km (75 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.3°
Emission Angle: 49.2°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
North is up in this image.

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

Changes to Valles and Catenae on Mercury

From the USGS Astrogeology Science Center:

The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved some changes for Mercury nomenclature. Arecibo Vallis has been changed to Arecibo Catena, Goldstone Vallis has been changed to Goldstone Catena, Haystack Vallis has been changed to Haystack Catena, and Simeiz Vallis has been dropped. The theme for catenae on Mercury is "Radio telescope facilities," and the theme for valles is "Abandoned cities (or towns or settlements) of antiquity." For more information, see the feature categories in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Debussy and Berkel Rays Together

Even when they're not in the picture, craters Debussy and Berkel still leave their mark. The rays of Debussy, outside of the image to the southwest, and Berkel to the northeast, cross the scene.

Date acquired: March 03, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4620855
Image ID: 3622493
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -18.53°
Center Longitude: 19.80° E
Resolution: 449 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 570 km (354 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 31.7°
Emission Angle: 51.4°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
North is up in this image.

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

Pahinui Crater

One of nine newly named craters, Pahinui crater has intriguing pits surrounding its central peak. Pahinui crater is named for the Hawaiian musician Gabby Pahinui, a key figure in the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance and master of the slack-key guitar, a style that originated in Hawaii.

Date acquired: July 31, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220635824
Image ID: 575089
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -28.30°
Center Longitude: 146.9° E
Resolution: 139 meters/pixel
Scale: Pahinui crater is 54 km (34 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 77.3°
Emission Angle: 22.5°
Phase Angle: 99.9°

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

Aksakov Impact Basin

The 173-km-diameter Aksakov basin was named in 2012, and has a prominent peak ring that hosts multiple hollows. A large portion of its peak ring is missing, however, destroyed when the crater in this image was formed. But this crater has interesting features of its own, including wall slumps and hollows on its smooth floor.

Date acquired: February 12, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 2952642
Image ID: 3503669
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 34.8°
Center Longitude: 280.9° E
Resolution: 37 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater in this image is approximately 40 km (25 mi.) from top to bottom
Incidence Angle: 80.8°
Emission Angle: 52.5°
Phase Angle: 28.3°
(North is down in this image.)

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

Volcanic Vent Northeast of Rachmaninoff Basin

We have seen this distinctive, irregular depression before -- in 2009 and again last year -- but never at this resolution.

The depression differs considerably from impact craters (it has no raised rim and an outline that is far from circular), and is surrounded by a smooth, velvety texture. Interpreted by scientists as a volcanic vent, the smooth texture is actually a blanket of very fine particles of lava that were ejected explosively from the vent in a pyroclastic eruption. Striations in the walls of the vent are visible in this image, as are very small impact craters that post-date the vent's formation.

Date acquired: February 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 3843866
Image ID: 3567175
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.1°
Center Longitude: 63.8° E
Resolution: 26 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is approximately 25 km (16 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 68.6°
Emission Angle: 11.9°
Phase Angle: 80.4°
(North is up in this image.)

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

Tectonic Complexity in Mercury's Impact Features

Mercury's surface is covered with impact craters, many of which have been flooded by lavas. A subset of flooded impact features host tectonic structures -- graben (shown in red in the figure above) and ridges and scarps (blue) -- that formed during or after volcanic infilling. Such impact features range from so-called "ghost craters" through medium-sized basins such as Mozart, to the largest basins on Mercury, including Rembrandt and the mighty Caloris. Mapping these structures, and so characterizing their nature and spatial and temporal distributions, helps scientists understand the processes responsible for the tectonic complexity within volcanically infilled craters and basins on Mercury.

Date released: February 1, 2013
Center Latitude: (a) 60.3°, (b) 7.8°, (c) -33.5°, (d) 30°
Center Longitude: (a) 36.7° E, (b) 169.6° E, (c) 88°E, (d) 161°E
Projection: Orthographic

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

Impact Crater Wall Terraces

Wall terraces are landforms common to impact craters and basins across Mercury. The fault-bound cliff in this image forms part of the wall of an unnamed peak-ring basin (which also hosts hollows). The low-angle lighting in the scene creates dramatic shadows at the base of the rim terrace, which is almost 1.5 km (1 mi.) high.

Date acquired: February 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 3038847
Image ID: 3509826
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42.20°
Center Longitude: 292.10° E
Resolution: 22 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is approximately 20 km (12 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 73.6°
Emission Angle: 9.8°
Phase Angle: 63.8°
(North is down in this image.)

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

Nine Mercurian Craters Named

From the USGS Astrogeology Science Center:

The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved new names for nine craters on Mercury: Alver, Donelaitis, Flaiano, Hurley, L'Engle, Lovecraft, Pahinui, Petőfi, and Roerich. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

A Tribute to Messenger

This video showcases a small sampling of the thousands of images taken by the spacecraft, as well as animations illustrating how MESSENGER moves in orbit and how its orbit has changed during the mission.

The opening sequence is from the approach images from the first flyby in 2008. The first animation to follow (at 0:15) shows MESSENGER in its primary mission 12-hour orbit. The relevance of the November 9, 2011, date is that this was when the MESSENGER team was advised that NASA had approved the proposal for an extended mission, allowing the mission to continue making new observations from March 2012 to March 2013. The animation at 0:22 gives you an idea of the movement and gyrations ("dancing") that the spacecraft undergoes while it performs a schedule packed full of observations that take place over one Earth day. The animation sequence at 0:59 gives you a "top down" view over Mercury's north pole from when MESSENGER first went into orbit until several months into the extended mission. The apparent size of the orbit shrinks from the start of the animation to the end, as shortly into the extended mission, MESSENGER's orbital period was shrunk from 12-hours to 8-hours. The animation sequence at 1:44 shows MESSENGER's "dance" on the first day of the extended mission. The other images and embedded movies can be found in the Gallery section of the MESSENGER website.

Some highlight images of note include:

At 0:48 - Blue rays of Bek crater
At 0:54 - Basho crater
At 0:57 - Poe crater in Caloris basin
At 1:17 - MASCS instrument surface scans in ultraviolet and infrared
At 1:19 - A perspective view of the northern polar region, color-coded to MLA topography
At 1:27 - Rembrandt impact basin
At 1:29 - Rembrandt impact basin superimposed on the US for size comparison
At 1:34 - Rachmaninoff impact basin, 3D effect crated using the digital elevation model
At 1:34 - Debussy crater
At 1:58 - Beagle rupes
At 2:04 - Mosaic view of north pole, showing the shadowed regions
At 2:06 - As previous, with superimposed radar data indicating likely water-ice deposits
At 2:11 - A volcanic vent near the edge of Caloris basin
At 2:34 - Derain crater
At 2:36 - Disney crater and two unnamed craters that resemble Mickey Mouse
At 2:38 - Basho crater while the Sun is low in the sky
At 2:40 - Basho crater again, but now with the Sun nearly overhead
At 2:45 - Degas crater
At 2:58 - 'Weird terrain' at the Caloris antipode
At 3:03 - Waters crater with the 'blue tongue' of dark impact melt material
At 3:10 - Seuss crater
At 3:13 - Caloris basin
At 3:15 - Pit in Scarlatti crater, with prominent hollows on the pit rim
At 3:17 - Enhanced color of Caloris basin
At 3:22 - A lava channel that had flowed into the Kofi crater
At 3:29 - More detail of Caloris basin floor
At 3:30 - The young, bright-rayed Mena crater
At 3:37 - Central peaks of Eminescu crater, with hollows around the bases of the peaks
At 3:39 - Apollodorus and Pantheon fossae
At 3:41 - The hollows on the floor of Sander crater

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a year-long extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

Video credit: Images and animation stills courtesy NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. Music: "Mercury Ridge" by Simon Wilkinson (thebluemask.com). Video creation and time-lapse animations by Mark 'Indy' Kochte.

Crater Hollows

This stunning view shows a host of hollows along the rim and floor of a 42-km-diameter (26-mi-diameter) crater. The hollow-covered rim to the right in this image is shared between this younger, smaller crater and an older, 120-km-diameter (75-mi.-diameter) crater, inside of which the smaller crater formed. The sun was high in the sky when this image was taken, making the bright hollows easy to see. North is to the right.

Date acquired: March 06, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4881055
Image ID: 3640892
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 25.60°
Center Longitude: 356.2° E
Resolution: 30 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is approximately 42 km (26 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 26.6°
Emission Angle: 52.9°
Phase Angle: 78.2°

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

Impact Craters

The large, unnamed crater in this image shares part of its wall with the younger, smaller (42 km/26 mi) unnamed crater that formed inside of it. The floor and rim of the smaller crater contains many hollows, which are difficult to make out in this high-incidence-angle image.

Date acquired: April 14, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 242883079
Image ID: 1646270
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 24.62°
Center Longitude: 357.7° E
Resolution: 172 meters/pixel
Scale: The largest crater in this image is approximately 120 km (75 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 85.2°
Emission Angle: 42.1°
Phase Angle: 127.4°

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

Berkel Crater

Berkel crater, named for Turkish painter and printmaker Sabri Berkel, is a complex crater that sits inside of the larger Ellington basin. Berkel's interior contains material that is darker than the surrounding terrain, as well as hollows, indicating the presence of dark material at depth.

This image was acquired as a targeted set of stereo images. Targeted stereo observations are acquired at resolutions much higher than that of the 200-meter/pixel stereo base map. These targets acquired with the NAC enable the detailed topography of Mercury's surface to be determined for a local area of interest.

Date acquired: February 25, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4159492
Image ID: 3589683
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -13.85°
Center Longitude: 26.56° E
Resolution: 71 meters/pixel
Scale: Berkel crater is approximately 24 km (15 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 30.3°
Emission Angle: 29.3°
Phase Angle: 52.6°

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

Theophanes Crater

This image shows the crater Theophanes, which was originally imaged by Mariner 10. It is named after the Byzantine iconographer known as Theophanes the Greek. Though he was born in Constantinople, the capitol of the Byzantine Empire, around 1340 CE, Theophanes spent most of his life in Russia, where he moved in 1370 CE. It was in Russia that he gained notoriety as an icon painter. Some of his more prominent works include Our Lady of the Don and the Transfiguration of Christ. He is also known as the teacher and mentor of the great medieval Russian painter Andrei Rublev, the eponym of Rublev crater.

Date acquired: October 03, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 257735204
Image ID: 2694715
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -5.04°
Center Longitude: 217.2° E
Resolution: 74 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater Theophanes has diameter of ~46 km ( 29 mi.).
Incidence Angle: 69.3°
Emission Angle: 2.2°
Phase Angle: 71.6°

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

Degas Crater Rim

This beautiful image shows a segment of the rim of the crater Degas. If you're a devoted MESSENGER follower, then you've no doubt heard all about the floor of Degas. So, let's look a little farther up, shall we? Just outside the rim, i.e. the top half of this image, the texture of the surface changes dramatically. This is the continuous ejecta blanket. This material completely covers the pre-existing terrain. In many instances, the composition of the ejecta blanket is different from the composition of the crater itself. This is because the material that forms the ejecta blanket is some of the deepest material thrown out during the formation of the crater.

Date acquired: October 01, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 257621391
Image ID: 2686511
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 37.60°
Center Longitude: 232.9° E
Resolution: 26 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is ~28 km ( ~17 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 65.2°
Emission Angle: 9.5°
Phase Angle: 74.7°

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

Thrust Fault Scarp on Mercury

The figure above shows an oblique view of a 280 km long scarp. The color scale on this figure represents elevation in which red is high and blue is low. This scarp is interpreted to be a surface-breaking thrust fault. Thrust faults are surface manifestations of the shrinkage of the planet resulting from the cooling of its interior. Notice that the terrain on the left side of the scarp stands about 2 km higher than that of the right side of the scarp. To give you a sense of the scale of this scarp, the state of Delaware has been superposed on the figure.

Center Latitude: 58.18°
Center Longitude: 307.69° E
Scale: The crater that is being cross-cut by this scarp is about 108 km (67 mi.) in diameter.

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

Secondary Craters

This image above shows a common pattern of secondary craters. Secondary craters are formed when blocks of material are thrown out during the formation of an impact crater. The material that impacted the surface to form these secondaries likely originated from the creation of the crater Degas.

Date acquired: November 28, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262575756
Image ID: 3038775
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 39.68°
Center Longitude: 231.8° E
Resolution: 24 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is ~27 km ( ~17 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 61.4°
Emission Angle: 16.6°
Phase Angle: 78.1°

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

Balzac Crater

This image shows the crater Balzac. It is named for the French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac. Balzac wrote 91 novels and short stories between 1829 and his death in 1850. His novels span several very different genres, including psychological, realistic, fantasy, philosophical, and political novels. Balzac's novels and short stories revealed him to be an extraordinary observer and, therefore, an excellent chronicler of contemporary French society. What a scientist he would have made!

Date acquired: November 27, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262546208
Image ID: 3036718
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 11.08°
Center Longitude: 215.1° E
Resolution: 55 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater Balzac is ~67 km ( ~42 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 36.3°
Emission Angle: 42.3°
Phase Angle: 78.3°

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

Impact Craters

A pair of craters, each with well-developed central peaks, can be seen in this high-resolution image. In the larger crater, a series of broad central peaks form a ring, while in the smaller, younger crater, one steep central peak dominates the central uplift.

Date acquired: November 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262402154
Image ID: 3026494
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 11.66°
Center Longitude: 245.8° E
Resolution: 48 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is 49 km (30 miles) across.
Incidence Angle: 65.7°
Emission Angle: 0.4°
Phase Angle: 65.3°

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

Impact Crater Near Picasso Crater

The floor of this unnamed crater, located southeast of Picasso crater, exhibits dark material on the southern crater floor at the base of multiple central peaks. Bright hollows cover the tops of the peaks, resembling a white heart on the dark background.

Date acquired: August 01, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 252323851
Image ID: 2309748
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -3.42°
Center Longitude: 54.44° E
Resolution: 98 meters/pixel
Scale: The unnamed large crater is about 35 km (22 miles) across.
Incidence Angle: 28.5°
Emission Angle: 17.1°
Phase Angle: 45.6°

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