These two images were taken 133 seconds apart, and both show the hollow-covered central peak structure of an unnamed 60-kilometer crater. Why take two images of the same surface just over two minutes apart? To create a stereo view. The slight differences in the viewing geometries between these two quite similar looking images enables a 3D view of the surface to be created. So find a pair of red-cyan stereo glasses (or make some at home) and then check out tomorrow's combined 3D image.
These images were acquired as a targeted set of stereo images. Targeted stereo observations are acquired at resolutions much higher than that of the 200-meter/pixel stereo base map. These targets acquired with the NAC enable the detailed topography of Mercury's surface to be determined for a local area of interest.
Date acquired: March 24, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET) (since January 8, 2013): 6465097 (top), 6465230 (bottom)
Image ID: 3753557 (top), 3753558 (bottom)
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.20°
Center Longitude: 244.2° E
Resolution: 29 (top), 24 (bottom) meters/pixel
Scale: Each image is roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 61.7° (top), 61.7° (bottom)
Emission Angle: 21.1° (top), 7.9° (bottom)
Phase Angle: 65.8° (top), 69.6° (bottom)
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Update:
Find a pair of red-cyan 3D glasses to fully view this image. This anaglyph image was created from the two images featured yesterday, and shows the central peak structure of a 60-kilometer crater that is covered with hollows. In the anaglyph, the topography of the surface appears exaggerated; the height of this mountain of hollows is roughly about a kilometer. The image has also been rotated 90° to the right (such that north is to the right), to make the 3D effect easier to view on the screen.
Photo credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
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