Hilly Terrain NW of Angkor Vallis

With the Sun low on the horizon, shadows accentuate the hilly nature of this terrain. This surface has been battered by repeated impacts for billions of years, creating the hilly surface that exists today. As a previous featured image of a nearby area put it, Mercury has been a "planetary punching bag."

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: November 12, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26543484
Image ID: 5181047
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 67.11°
Center Longitude: 249.8° E
Resolution: 11 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is 14.6 kilometers (9.1 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 82.0°
Emission Angle: 36.9°
Phase Angle: 118.9°

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

Note: This image is located northwest of Angkor Vallis in the Raditladi Quadrangle.

Damer Crater

The steep walls of the crater Damer are highlighted in today's image. Named for the English sculptor Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828) earlier this year, the 60-kilometer-diameter crater is distinguished by a central peak covered with hollows.

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: November 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26687033
Image ID: 5191249
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.25°
Center Longitude: 243.4° E
Resolution: 17 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is 17 kilometers (11 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 68.3°
Emission Angle: 3.0°
Phase Angle: 65.3°

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

Wang Meng, Judah Ha Levi and Glinka Craters

Three named craters are featured prominently in this view. The peak-ring basin Wang Meng is toward the horizon, while the pit-floor crater Glinka is near the bottom left. Judah Ha Levi is about half way in between the two.

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: November 16, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26888421
Image ID: 5205547
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 10.04°
Center Longitude: 251.2° E
Resolution: 292 meters/pixel
Scale: Wang Meng has a diameter of 165 km (103 miles)

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

Mena Crater

Here we get a closer look at the fresh, bright-rayed crater Mena. Solidified impact melt forms a smooth pond on the western side of the crater floor. This asymmetry is due to the fact that Mena formed on the sloping rim of an older crater, as seen in this wider view.

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: November 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26657614
Image ID: 5189176
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -0.24°
Center Longitude: 235.3° E
Resolution: 37 meters/pixel
Scale: Mena crater has a diameter of 15 km (9 miles)
Incidence Angle: 54.7°
Emission Angle: 23.4°
Phase Angle: 71.0°

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

Ghost Crater

Mercury's surface has been extensively modified by tectonic activity. Giant thrust faults are thought to be the result of global cooling and contraction of the planet, and Mercury's smooth plains in particular are folded and wrinkled. With the Sun very low in the sky, the complexity of tectonic features in the northern volcanic plains is especially apparent. The wrinkle-ridge ring (also known as a "ghost crater") on the eastern edge of the scene was also captured here (see PIA15636) at more moderate illumination angles.

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: November 12, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26543953
Image ID: 5181050
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 80.04°
Center Longitude: 86.24° E
Resolution: 230 meters/pixel
Scale: Scene is 125 km (78 miles) from top to bottom
Incidence Angle: 90.7°
Emission Angle: 49.8°
Phase Angle: 140.6°

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

Nureyev Crater

The bright, rayed crater Nureyev is at center stage in this dramatic view toward Mercury's eastern limb. The crater's namesake is the Soviet/British ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who died in 1993. This set of color images was obtained at a relatively small phase angle and consequently is dominated by variations in the inherent reflectance and color of the surface. The shape of the crater can be better perceived in an image with a larger phase angle, allowing shadows and shading to reveal the topography of the surface.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution 3-color imaging campaign. The map produced from this campaign complements the 8-color base map (at an average resolution of 1 km/pixel) acquired during MESSENGER's primary mission by imaging Mercury's surface in a subset of the color filters at the highest resolution possible. The three narrow-band color filters are centered at wavelengths of 430 nm, 750 nm, and 1000 nm, and image resolutions generally range from 100 to 400 meters/pixel in the northern hemisphere.

Date acquired: June 17, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 248431526, 248431518, 248431522
Image ID: 2033219, 2033217, 2033218
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: 12.6°
Center Longitude: 187.0° E
Resolution: 660 meters/pixel
Scale: Nureyev crater is about 16 km (10 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 26.0°
Emission Angle: 54.1°
Phase Angle: 28.0°

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

Unnamed Craters

In the center of this image is a high-reflectance area that seems to be confined to a region of lower elevation that is bounded by linear scarp (cliff) segments. Such diffuse bright areas are sometimes related to the deposition of small secondary craters and ray segments by a relatively recent impact crater, but looking at regional images (for example, using QuickMap), there are no rayed craters in the immediate vicinity (though Han Kan might be a candidate). Therefore, a compositional difference may account for the difference in the albedo (brightness) of the material in the low-lying area. Are the scarps tectonic in nature (the result of vertical movement along faults), or were they formed by secondary crater chains? Also of interest in the scene are hollows on the central peak of the crater at the upper left, and the smooth impact melt on the floor of the terrace-walled crater just below center. Scientists will be at work for many years to solve the puzzle of Mercury's complicated geological history!

This image was 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: May 19, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 245904903
Image ID: 1853014
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -47.3°
Center Longitude: 177.3° E
Resolution: 179 meters/pixel
Scale: The scene is about 184 km (114 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 47.7°
Emission Angle: 24.2°
Phase Angle: 71.9°

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

Bright Impact Crater Deposits Near Matisse Crater

This image brings us back to the vicinity of Matisse, the subject of several recent Gallery images. The unnamed impact crater with the bright pyroclastic deposit on its southern floor also has two arcuate scallops on its northern wall. These were the sites of massive landslides that took place when the oversteepened crater wall collapsed. The ultimate cause of the collapse is the topography of the area where the crater formed: the northern part of the crater formed on the wall of Matisse.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution albedo base map. The best images for discerning variations in albedo, or brightness, on the surface are acquired when the Sun is overhead, so these images typically are taken at low incidence angles. The albedo base map covers Mercury's surface at an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.

Date acquired: April 05, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 242124773
Image ID: 1609270
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -22.85°
Center Longitude: 267.3° E
Resolution: 196 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater with the bright floor is about 70 km (44 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 40.8°
Emission Angle: 30.0°
Phase Angle: 70.8°

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