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This image crosses the terminator, the transition between day and night. An observer located on Kosho's illuminated central peak at the time this image was taken would see the sun setting over the horizon. This image, which shows the area just to the north of Kosho, was taken immediately before the image featured here.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-incidence-angle base map. The high-incidence-angle base map complements the surface morphology base map of MESSENGER's primary mission that was acquired under generally more moderate incidence angles. High incidence angles, achieved when the Sun is near the horizon, result in long shadows that accentuate the small-scale topography of geologic features. The high-incidence-angle base map was acquired with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.
Date acquired: December 09, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 28935228
Image ID: 5350994
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 60.08°
Center Longitude: 223.9° E
Resolution: 166 meters/pixel
Scale: Kosho crater is ~65 km (40 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 91.6°
Emission Angle: 50.4°
Phase Angle: 142.0°
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Today's image introduces crater Kosho, which sits in Mercury's northern hemisphere. Kosho, 65 km (~40 mi.) in diameter, is a complex crater. The long shadows in this image accentuate Kosho's central peak, which is approximately 2 km (~1.2 mi.) high. Kosho crater is named for a thirteenth century Japanese sculptor famous for his depictions of Buddhist Monks.
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: September 17, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 21703926
Image ID: 4836915
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 60.01°
Center Longitude: 220.2° E
Resolution: 269 meters/pixel
Scale: Kosho crater is approximately 65 km (40 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 83.3°
Emission Angle: 55.3°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
Photo credit:
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