Degas Crater

This close up of Degas crater shows off its grand central peaks, which are made up of sub-surface material uplifted by the impact. Over time, material from the tops of the central peaks has slid downslope, exposing fresh material that appears bright in this image. The long cracks appearing around the central peaks were likely formed as the impact melt in the bottom of the crater cooled.

This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: September 17, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 21761231
Image ID: 4841024
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.99°
Center Longitude: 232.8° E
Resolution: 18 meters/pixel
Scale: Degas is 55 km (approximately 34 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 67.9°
Emission Angle: 1.6°
Phase Angle: 66.2°
Orientation: North is towards the bottom of the image.

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

Heine Crater

Heine, detailed here, exhibits Low Reflectance Material (LRM) and high reflectance rays to the west of the crater. The LRM (darker area to the bottom) is likely darker, older material found in some southern areas on Mercury. The bright rays emanate from Degas, located approximately 150 km to the north. Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) is considered one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. One of Heine's best known poems is "Die Lorelei."

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution 3-color imaging campaign. The map produced from this campaign complements the 8-color base map (at an average resolution of 1 km/pixel) acquired during MESSENGER's primary mission by imaging Mercury's surface in a subset of the color filters at the highest resolution possible. The three narrow-band color filters are centered at wavelengths of 430 nm, 750 nm, and 1000 nm, and image resolutions generally range from 100 to 400 meters/pixel in the northern hemisphere.

Date acquired: May 06, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 244776305, 244776297, 244776301
Image ID: 1773153, 1773151, 1773152
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: 32.28°
Center Longitude: 234.5° E
Resolution: 111 meters/pixel
Scale: The diameter of Heine is about 70 km (43 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 43.0°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 43.1°

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

Degas Crater Rim

A portion of the rim of Degas crater is visible towards the top of this image. The hummocky texture of the interior crater wall is due to the slumping and downslope movement of material soon after the crater formed.

Date acquired: April 22, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 8944037
Image ID: 3929664
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.35° N
Center Longitude: 232.6° E
Resolution: 24 meters/pixel
Scale: The diagonal of this image is approximately 36 km (22 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 43.6°
Emission Angle: 12.7°
Phase Angle: 56.3°

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

Degas Crater Rim

This beautiful image shows a segment of the rim of the crater Degas. If you're a devoted MESSENGER follower, then you've no doubt heard all about the floor of Degas. So, let's look a little farther up, shall we? Just outside the rim, i.e. the top half of this image, the texture of the surface changes dramatically. This is the continuous ejecta blanket. This material completely covers the pre-existing terrain. In many instances, the composition of the ejecta blanket is different from the composition of the crater itself. This is because the material that forms the ejecta blanket is some of the deepest material thrown out during the formation of the crater.

Date acquired: October 01, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 257621391
Image ID: 2686511
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 37.60°
Center Longitude: 232.9° E
Resolution: 26 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is ~28 km ( ~17 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 65.2°
Emission Angle: 9.5°
Phase Angle: 74.7°

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

Secondary Craters

This image above shows a common pattern of secondary craters. Secondary craters are formed when blocks of material are thrown out during the formation of an impact crater. The material that impacted the surface to form these secondaries likely originated from the creation of the crater Degas.

Date acquired: November 28, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262575756
Image ID: 3038775
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 39.68°
Center Longitude: 231.8° E
Resolution: 24 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is ~27 km ( ~17 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 61.4°
Emission Angle: 16.6°
Phase Angle: 78.1°

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

Ray Systems East of Bronte Crater

Today's image shows a complicated area of rays to the east of crater Bronte (named for sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, and their brother Branwell). The rays trending roughly northeast-southwest originated from Degas, which formed just touching Bronte's rim. The roughly north-south ray (and secondary crater chain) on the right side of the image was probably formed by ejecta that came over the pole from Hokusai.

Date acquired: April 22, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 211981114
Image ID: 163497
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 38.15°
Center Longitude: 238.4° E
Resolution: 322 meters/pixel
Scale: The edges of the image are about 330 km (205 mi.) long.
Incidence Angle: 62.4°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 62.5°

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

Degas Crater

Degas crater is shown here in spectacular detail. This high-resolution mosaic is made up of five separate images. The floor of the crater contains cracks that formed as the melt sheet cooled and contracted. Downslope movement of material on the central peaks and walls has exposed fresh, bright material.

Date acquired: April 07, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 242296379, 242338160, 242338176, 242338192, 242379971
Image ID: 1617565, 1619567, 1619568, 1619569, 1621694
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 37.1°
Center Longitude: 232.7° E
Resolution: 32.5 meters/pixel
Scale: Degas is approximately 53 km (33 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 68.5°
Emission Angle: 15.6°
Phase Angle: 52.8°

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

Note: This image looks very similar to a photo of De Graft Crater, taken earlier this year.

Brontë and Degas Craters

This image shows a colorful view of Brontë (the large crater in the top right corner) and Degas (the blue-hued crater atop Brontë). These craters are located in Sobkou Planitia, a plains region formed through past volcanic activity.

Date acquired: December 12, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 232160712, 232160708, 232160704
Image ID: 1125985, 1125984, 1125983
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: 36.44°
Center Longitude: 231.5° E
Resolution: 231 meters/pixel
Scale: Degas crater is 52 km (32 miles) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 59.7°
Emission Angle: 25.2°
Phase Angle: 85.0°

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