Impact Crater with Pit Crater

The impact crater at the top center of this image is characterized by a sharp rim and high-reflectance ejecta. Lobes of slumped material are found where the wall meets the floor. The central peak is notable because it contains a pit. A recent survey1 found 27 central pit craters on Mercury. All of these central pit craters are located in plains units, but the mechanism by which the pits form is uncertain.

1 Z. Xiao and G. Komatsu (2013), Impact craters with ejecta flows and central pits on Mercury, Planetary and Space Science, vol. 82-83, pp. 62-78.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution surface morphology base map. The surface morphology base map covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel. Images acquired for the surface morphology base map typically are obtained at off-vertical Sun angles (i.e., high incidence angles) and have visible shadows so as to reveal clearly the topographic form of geologic features.

Date acquired: July 17, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219350124
Image ID: 513704
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 19.42°
Center Longitude: 63.27° E
Resolution: 143 meters/pixel
Scale: The impact crater of interest is about 17 km (11 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 59.8°
Emission Angle: 12.8°
Phase Angle: 47.0°

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