Volcanic Vents North of Rachmaninoff Basin

This image, located north of Rachmaninoff, features a possible volcanic vent to the east and an expanse of terrain that appears blue in this color view to the west. The depression's orange-yellow color and irregular shape are similar to other possible volcanic vents on Mercury. To the west of the large vent is a crater with an orange, irregularly shaped depression on its floor that may also be a vent. Vents on Mercury are indicative of explosive volcanism that was prevalent in Mercury's past.

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: July 03, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 46686728, 46686748, 46686732
Image ID: 6612580, 6612585, 6612581
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: 36.10°
Center Longitude: 54.93° E
Resolution: 215 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater with a possible vent on its floor is about 20 km (12.4 miles) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 40.6°
Emission Angle: 39.4°
Phase Angle: 78.0°

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