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This small, bright crater is located in the northern plains of Mercury, southeast of the crater Stieglitz. Though it is one of many craters in the 2-5 km size range in this image, most of the others are clearly members of crater chains, created in quick succession during secondary impacts. The crater in the western portion of the image stands out from its surroundings both due to its morphology and its freshness.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's minimum-phase-angle color campaign. Near the north polar region, the incidence angle (measured from the vertical) is always fairly high because the Sun is low on the horizon. The minimum-phase-angle color campaign acquires images under conditions that minimize the shadows in an image by viewing the surface as nearly as possible from the same direction as the Sun's illumination, which minimizes the phase angle. Images are acquired through five of the WAC's narrow-band color filters, for regions north of 60° N, at an average resolution of 500 meters/pixel. The minimum-phase-angle color campaign began in March 2013.
Date acquired: July 04, 2014
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 46773193, 46773184, 46773190
Image ID: 6618773, 6618770, 6618772
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: 68.82°
Center Longitude: 71.79° E
Resolution: 273 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is roughly 225 km (140 mi.) from corner to corner.
Incidence Angle: 73.9°
Emission Angle: 45.8°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
What a difference a week makes. Today's featured image was acquired earlier this month, one week after this image (PIA17579), showing how the lighting conditions change in an Earth week (but only about 4% of a Mercury day). Can you spot the crater with the prominent secondary chains? With the Sun now a bit higher above this crater (located about a quarter of the way up from the bottom of the frame), its floor appears smooth, and its crater chains can still be seen to stretch far from its rim.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.
Date acquired: October 09, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23629938
Image ID: 4974132
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -43.49°
Center Longitude: 150.4° E
Resolution: 1085 meters/pixel
Incidence Angle: 77.7°
Emission Angle: 57.7°
Phase Angle: 132.9°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Another day, another beautiful view of Mercury's horizon. In this scene, which was acquired looking from the shadows toward the sunlit side of the planet, a 120-km (75 mile) impact crater stands out near the center. Emanating from this unnamed crater are striking chains of secondary craters, which gouged linear tracks radially away from the crater. While this crater is not especially fresh (its rays have faded into the background), it does appear to have more prominent secondary crater chains than many of its peers.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's limb, with an emphasis on imaging the southern hemisphere limb. These limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's northern hemisphere.
Date acquired: October 02, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 23055902
Image ID: 4933174
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -52.13°
Center Longitude: 167.5° E
Resolution: 667 meters/pixel
Incidence Angle: 82.0°
Emission Angle: 69.4°
Phase Angle: 122.4°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
This view shows the edge of the Goethe Basin. The margins of the basin interior are marked by wrinkle ridges. Part of one such ridge is shown in this image. The scene also includes small secondary crater chains on the smooth plains that fill the basin, and the hummocky terrain outside of the basin.
Date acquired: February 10, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 2778942, 2778934, 2778938
Image ID: 3491366, 3491364, 3491365
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: 82.92°
Center Longitude: 286.5° E
Resolution: 86 meters/pixel
Scale: The small crater in the center of the image is 2.7 km (1.7 miles) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 88.0°
Emission Angle: 17.5°
Phase Angle: 87.8°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
This unnamed complex crater in Mercury's northern hemisphere has produced crater chains. These chains form when a crater ejects material that then plummets towards the surface, producing more craters, often in long linear chains. Another set of crater chains can be seen within the large crater in this image, which most likely originated from the crater Hokusai. Since Hokusai's crater chains lie on top of the crater in this image, the crater Hokusai must be younger!
Date acquired: February 01, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 2001572
Image ID: 3436074
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 54.87°
Center Longitude: 6.15° E
Resolution: 234 meters/pixel
Scale: The large crater is 64 km in diameter (40 miles).
Incidence Angle: 54.9°
Emission Angle: 4.5°
Phase Angle: 50.4°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Here, the peak-ringed Michelangelo basin is seen close to the terminator. Hawthorne crater (outside this image field of view past the upper right corner) may be the source of the secondary crater chains that cross through the basin. North is towards the bottom of this image.
Date acquired: March 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 241236952
Image ID: 1566240
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -44.13°
Center Longitude: 251.5° E
Resolution: 369 meters/pixel
Scale: Michelangelo basin is approximately 230 km (143 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 83.6°
Emission Angle: 37.6°
Phase Angle: 67.5°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
This view, captured by the Wide Angle Camera (WAC), shows a trail of small craters. Such secondary crater chains are formed when the ejecta from a primary impact fall in the surrounding area, forming their own often overlapping small craters. Also visible in this image are smooth plains, formed by volcanism that has filled in a large impact crater.
Date acquired: July 15, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219181924
Image ID: 505807
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 83.21°
Center Longitude: 173.6° E
Resolution: 155 meters/pixel
Scale: The small crater at the bottom of the image has a diameter of 24 km (15 miles).
Incidence Angle: 85.3°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 85.3°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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