Bartok Crater

Bartok, a large complex crater in Mercury's southern hemisphere, is located in the center of the frame. In this colored image, Bartok's central peak appears to be blue and is darker than the surrounding surface. This suggests that the central uplift is composed of material that has different properties than the surrounding terrain, providing clues to the geologic history of the region. To the southwest of Bartok, a young crater with stunning rays is also visible.

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: November 12, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26540775, 26540771, 26540769
Image ID: 5180966, 5180964, 5180963
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: -29.48°
Center Longitude: 224.9° E
Resolution: 1350 meters/pixel
Scale: This image's central crater has a diameter of approximately 117 km (73 miles)
Incidence Angle: 51.4°
Emission Angle: 27.9°
Phase Angle: 79.0°

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