Sander and Munch Craters

Today's image features a stunning view of two complex craters within the Caloris basin. The floor of Sander crater is covered with bright hollows, while Munch crater stands out due to its low-reflectance crater rim.

This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted color observation. Targeted color observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions higher than the 1-kilometer/pixel 8-color base map. During MESSENGER's one-year primary mission, hundreds of targeted color observations were obtained. During MESSENGER's extended mission, high-resolution targeted color observations are more rare, as the 3-color base map covered Mercury's northern hemisphere with the highest-resolution color images that are possible.

Date acquired: April 26, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 40804465, 40804485, 40804469
Image ID: 6194731, 6194736, 6194732
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: 39.98°
Center Longitude: 153.1° E
Resolution: 290 meters/pixel
Scale: Sander crater is about 51 km (31.7 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 46.9°
Emission Angle: 50.5°
Phase Angle: 79.7°

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