Lobate Scarp North of Mussorgskij Crater

In contrast to a previous image, not all lobate scarps are large. The example pictured here is much smaller -- both in terms of length and relief -- than Discovery Rupes, but it too has contributed to the shortening of Mercury's crust. This scarp cross-cuts an unnamed, 65-km-diameter crater, which is filled with smooth plains, just north of Mussorgskij crater. Whether this scarp is younger than Discovery Rupes and so has not had as much time to accumulate tectonic deformation, or if instead it did not shorten the crust as much for other reasons, remains as yet unclear.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: September 11, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 21213842
Image ID: 4802121
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 35.4°
Center Longitude: 262.0° E
Resolution: 24.1 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is about 29 km (18 mi.) from left to right
Incidence Angle: 60.59°
Emission Angle: 31.91°
Phase Angle: 28.68°
North is to the bottom of the image.

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

Unnamed Crater and Wrinkle Ridge

Simple craters adorn Mercury's surface. This unnamed example lies in the northern volcanic plains, and likely post-dates most of the volcanism in the region. Its raised rim is still largely preserved, suggesting that it is relatively young -- by Mercury's standards: it's probably still many millions of years old! Its interior is slightly raised, the result of deformation by a small wrinkle ridge located just to its east.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: September 02, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 20407784
Image ID: 4744802
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 63.4°
Center Longitude: 336.0° E
Resolution: 23.9 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is 9.4 km (5.8 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 63.51°
Emission Angle: 9.49°
Phase Angle: 54.02°
North is to the right of the image.

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

Comet Encke

MESSENGER image of comet 2P/Encke during its closest approach to Mercury. At that time, Encke was approximately 2.3 million miles (3.7 million kilometers) from MESSENGER and 32.7 million miles (52.6 million kilometers) from the Sun. The image is 7° by 4.7° in size and has been slightly smoothed to enhance the faint tail of the comet. The tail was oriented nearly side on to MESSENGER in this image and is seen to stretch several degrees from the comet's bright coma in the direction away from the Sun.

MESSENGER's cameras have been acquiring targeted observations (watch an animation here) of Encke since October 28 and ISON since October 26, although the first faint detections didn't come until early November. During the closest approach of each comet to Mercury, the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) and X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS) instruments also targeted the comets. Observations of ISON conclude on November 26, when the comet passes too close to the Sun, but MESSENGER will continue to monitor Encke with both the imagers and spectrometers through early December. Read this mission news story for more details.

Date acquired: 22:56 UTC on November 17, 2013
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)

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

Note: For more information, see PIA17693: MESSENGER's First Images of Comets Encke and ISON and Two Comets to Fly By Mercury.

Discovery Rupes at Rameau Crater

Although one of Mercury's largest lobate scarps, Discovery Rupes is by no means an unusual type of landform on the innermost planet. In fact, scarps cover the surface, and are interpreted to be the result of crustal shortening as Mercury's interior cooled and contracted. In this dramatic view of Discovery Rupes, taken with the Sun low in the sky, the relief along 400-km-long structure can be clearly seen as it cross-cuts Rameau crater.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: September 23, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 22261149
Image ID: 4875898
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -55.0°
Center Longitude: 322.2° E
Resolution: 246 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is about 260 km (162 mi.) from top to bottom
Incidence Angle: 66.87°
Emission Angle: 39.74°
Phase Angle: 106.61°
North is to the top left of the image.

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

Face on Mercury

Can you see the face in this image? The two large craters towards the upper corners of this picture make eyes, and the prominent central peak is a perfect nose. It seems our model wasn't prepared for his MDIS photo shoot, as apparent from the perfect "O" mouth. This unnamed land form is part of a large, heavily cratered area in Mercury's northern hemisphere.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-incidence-angle base map. The high-incidence-angle base map complements the surface morphology base map of MESSENGER's primary mission that was acquired under generally more moderate incidence angles. High incidence angles, achieved when the Sun is near the horizon, result in long shadows that accentuate the small-scale topography of geologic features. The high-incidence-angle base map was acquired with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.

Date acquired: October 04, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23174065
Image ID: 4941357
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 50.32°
Center Longitude: 314.1° E
Resolution: 171 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is approximately 207 km (~129 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 79.9°
Emission Angle: 31.4°
Phase Angle: 48.4°
North is down in this image.

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

Rough Ejecta Terrain Near Mozart Impact Basin

Wolfgang's namesake basin has had a large effect on Mercury. Ejecta from the 241-kilometer-diameter (150 mile) impact basin has left an enormous network of rough terrain, in beautiful contrast to the basin's smooth interior. Mozart basin lies just a hop, skip and a jump away from the planet's largest impact basin, Caloris.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: October 02, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 22999301
Image ID: 4929063
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 12.52°
Center Longitude: 168.0° E
Resolution: 47 meters/pixel
Scale: The entire image is approximately 95 km (59 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 78.9°
Emission Angle: 59.6°
Phase Angle: 138.5°
North is down in this image.

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

Warhol Crater

The Warhol crater hosts one of the best collections of hollows found on Mercury's surface. The crater's central peak is surrounded by a network of small hollows and a smooth floor formed from impact melt. The hollows seen in the Warhol crater have high albedos, making them easy to see.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: September 23, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 22253846
Image ID: 4875892
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -2.55°
Center Longitude: 354.1° E
Resolution: 79 meters/pixel
Scale: Warhol is about 91 km (~57 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 78.5°
Emission Angle: 35.1°
Phase Angle: 113.6°

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

Hollows and Pyroclastic Deposits in a Crater Near Caloris Basin

Today's image features several craters near the eastern edge of the Caloris basin. The larger craters have excavated low reflectance material, and both have hollows forming within their floors. Reddish deposits that exhibit a spectral signature similar to pyroclastics occur in the northeastern quadrant of this scene, suggesting that this region may have once been the site of explosive volcanism.

This image was acquired as a targeted high-resolution 11-color image set. Acquiring 11-color targets is a new campaign that began in March 2013 and that utilizes all of the WAC's 11 narrow-band color filters. Because of the large data volume involved, only features of special scientific interest are targeted for imaging in all 11 colors.

Date acquired: October 24, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 24470528, 24960452, 24470516
Image ID: 5033545, 5068359, 5033542
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: 23.72°
Center Longitude: 179.1° E
Resolution: 260 meters/pixel
Scale: The larger crater near the top of the image is approximately 54 km (33.5 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 24.8°
Emission Angle: 8.4°
Phase Angle: 33.2°

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

Unnamed Crater with Rays North of Couperin Crater

Today's image features an unnamed crater located north of the crater Couperin. Although this crater is only about 6 km (3.7 mi.) in diameter, its bright rays cause it to stand out prominently in regional views of the planet. The rays are particularly distinctive because they fade into the blacker background of low reflectance material.

This image was acquired as a targeted high-resolution 11-color image set. Acquiring 11-color targets is a new campaign that began in March 2013 and that utilizes all of the WAC's 11 narrow-band color filters. Because of the large data volume involved, only features of special scientific interest are targeted for imaging in all 11 colors.

Date acquired: October 19, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 24470528, 24470520, 24470516
Image ID: 5033545, 5033543, 5033542
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: 35.86°
Center Longitude: 207.9° E
Resolution: 207 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is roughly 285 km (177 mi.) from corner to corner diagonally.
Incidence Angle: 37.1°
Emission Angle: 9.1°
Phase Angle: 41.6°

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

Ride Along With Messenger (Video 2)

This movie was assembled from 289 individual NAC images. Most of the images were acquired four seconds apart, the fastest that MDIS is capable of taking full resolution images, but this movie is shown with 15 images per second. The movie begins centered on the 191-km diameter Schubert basin.

These images were acquired as part of the NAC ride-along imaging campaign. When data volume is available and MDIS is not acquiring images for its other campaigns, high-resolution NAC images are obtained of the surface. These images are designed not to interfere with other instrument observations but take full advantage of periods during the mission when extra data volume is available.

Date acquired: October 04, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23236906-23238062
Image ID: 4945775-4946063
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Initial Center Latitude: -42.67°
Initial Center Longitude: 306.1° E
Final Center Latitude: -50.20°
Final Center Longitude: 311.9° E
Resolution: 176-199 meters/pixel
Scale: The first image is 179 kilometers (111 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 74.3°-79.9°
Emission Angle: 3.6°-0.8°
Phase Angle: 77.9°-79.4°

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

Ride Along With Messenger (Video 1)

This movie was assembled from 284 individual NAC images. Most of the images were acquired four seconds apart, the fastest that MDIS is capable of taking full resolution images, but the movie is shown with 15 images per second. In the second half of the movie, Mirni Rupes can be seen in the top right.

These images were acquired as part of the NAC ride-along imaging campaign. When data volume is available and MDIS is not acquiring images for its other campaigns, high-resolution NAC images are obtained of the surface. These images are designed not to interfere with other instrument observations but take full advantage of periods during the mission when extra data volume is available.

Date acquired: October 04, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23235568-23236706
Image ID: 4945491-4945774
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Initial Center Latitude: -33.79°
Initial Center Longitude: 310.4° E
Final Center Latitude: -43.43°
Final Center Longitude: 324.6° E
Resolution: 145-174 meters/pixel
Scale: The first image is 148 kilometers (92 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 75.7°-87.7°
Emission Angle: 3.0°-15.2°
Phase Angle: 72.6°-72.5°

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

Hopper Crater

This recently acquired image shows the crater Hopper, whose floor is home to a collection of hollows. Hopper's hollows bear a resemblance to the spectacular system of hollows seen on the floor of Kertesz crater. Hopper was named in December 2012 for the American painter Edward Hopper, whose most famous painting is Nighthawks.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: October 05, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23291305
Image ID: 4949563
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -11.95°
Center Longitude: 304.0° E
Resolution: 90 meters/pixel
Scale: Hopper has a diameter of 36 kilometers (22 miles)
Incidence Angle: 68.8°
Emission Angle: 4.7°
Phase Angle: 64.0°

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

New Quadrangle Maps of Mercury

A new set of Mercury maps are available on the USGS website. These maps utilize the current best MESSENGER mosaic of Mercury, which covers 100% of the surface. Mercury's surface is divided into 15 different quadrangles. The H-10 quadrangle, which is named for the crater Derain, is shown here at half the available resolution. For the full resolution map of this region, and all of Mercury's surface, visit the USGS website.

Map Quadrangles: H-10 Derain
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 36° E (324° W)
Scale: Derain has a diameter of 167 km (104 miles)
USGS Maps of Mercury website: http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/mercuryQuadMap

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

Crescent Mercury

Although its geologic history was very different from that of our closest celestial neighbor, it's fun to see Mercury in the familiar crescent we associate with the Moon. Though the extreme viewing angle makes it hard to tell, this irregular pit is near the center of the sunlit sliver.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.

Date acquired: October 09, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23631997
Image ID: 4974136
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -53.19°
Center Longitude: 121.8° E
Resolution: 655 meters/pixel
Incidence Angle: 96.8°
Emission Angle: 67.9°
Phase Angle: 140.3°

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