Waters Crater, et al

This WAC (Wide Angle Camera) image shows a large portion of the planet, known as a limb image. Prominent in this image is Waters crater in the top left corner, distinctive because of its bright rays and dark impact melt flow. Also identifiable in this picture are Beethoven basin, as well as the Bello crater, Rumi crater, Philoxenus crater, and partly visible: Palmer Rupes.

Date acquired: April 14, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 211284337
Image ID: 130687
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -21.12°
Center Longitude: 249.8° E
Resolution: 884 meters/pixel
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles).
Incidence Angle: 69.6°
Emission Angle: 63.7°
Phase Angle: 28.0°

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

Beethoven Basin Elevation Map

This elevation map of the Beethoven basin is color-coded to show the height of features on Mercury's surface. Mercury lacks a "sea level," so the zero-point reference elevation is defined to be the mean planetary radius of 2440 km. Blue areas, such as within Bello crater on the floor of Beethoven, have negative elevations. The red and white areas to the southwest are more than 8 km higher than the lowest points in this area.

Center Latitude: -20°
Center Longitude: 236° E
Scale: Beethoven basin is ~650 km (404 miles) in diameter
Image information: A digital terrain model (DTM) derived from Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) stereo images. The lateral spacing is 330 meters and the map is in stereographic (conformal) projection. The image is taken from abstract number 1913 submitted to the 2012 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, by Frank Preusker and colleagues.

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