Central Peak Mountain with Hollows

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

Topographical Map of Mercury's Northern Polar Region

This view of the topography of Mercury's north polar region complements yesterday's image of the day (PIA16950). Both were used during The Challenge of Discovery Educator Workshop, which was held last weekend. Workshop participants learned about MESSENGER's recent evidence for water ice near Mercury's poles through an activity that explored different datasets of Mercury's north polar region. Those activity materials can be viewed and download from this workshop website. In this view, MLA tracks across the surface are colored by the height of the surface relative to a reference sphere with a radius of 2440 kilometers.

Instrument: Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA)
Center Latitude: 90° N
Map Projection: Polar stereographic projection, extending southward to 65° N, with 0° longitude at the bottom
Scale: The diameter of this polar map projection covers 2,130 kilometers (1320 miles)

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

Orbital Mosaic of Mercury's North Pole

Last weekend, MESSENGER team members participated in The Challenge of Discovery Educator Workshop. Held simultaneously at four locations across the United States, participants learned about MESSENGER's recent evidence for water ice near Mercury's poles. The view shown above is a mosaic of Mercury's north polar region, created from thousands of MDIS images obtained over MESSENGER's >2 years of orbital operations. It was part of an activity at the weekend's workshop, where different datasets from Mercury's north polar region were explored. View this workshop website to see and download other views of Mercury's north polar region.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 90° N
Map Projection: Polar stereographic projection, extending southward to 65° N, with 0° longitude at the bottom
Scale: The diameter of this polar map projection covers 2,130 kilometers (1320 miles)

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

Hollows in an Unnamed Basin

The image above shows an area within an unnamed basin that has been etched by hollows. This is the only area within the basin in which hollows are found. To the bottom left, part of the peak ring of the basin can be seen. This peak ring has been modified by subsequent impacts.

Date acquired: February 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 3038823
Image ID: 3509823
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 43.52°
Center Longitude: 291.5° E
Resolution: 21 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is ~23 km (14 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 74.2°
Emission Angle: 10.4°
Phase Angle: 63.8°

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

Faulkner Crater

Relatively young smooth plains fill and partially bury Faulkner crater, leaving only the northern three-quarters of its degraded rim visible. These smooth plains, which have relatively few superposed craters and appear tan in this image, were likely emplaced as volcanic flows that breached Faulkner's southern rim, leaving only the highest-standing terrain intact.

Date acquired: January 19, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 878881, 878901, 878885
Image ID: 3356193, 3356198, 3356194
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: 8.61°
Center Longitude: 77.37° E
Resolution: 299 meters/pixel
Scale: Faulkner crater is approximately 168 km (104 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 36.5°
Emission Angle: 43.6°
Phase Angle: 78.1°
North is up in this image.

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

Balzac, Phidias, Tyagaraja, Stevenson, and Zeami Craters

This oblique view highlights, from top to bottom, Balzac, Phidias, Tyagaraja, Stevenson, and Zeami craters. While named craters are still sparse across much of Mercury, this region was observed by Mariner 10, allowing for plenty of time to propose names. In Mariner 10 images of Mercury, craters like Tyagaraja and Zeami were described as hosting bright floor deposits, but the relatively low resolution at which they were imaged did not allow for a more detailed analysis. We now know that craters such as these host hollows (see the links above for higher resolution images of each crater in this scene).

Date acquired: November 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262401199, 262401219, 262401203
Image ID: 3026482, 3026487, 3026483
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: 4.64°
Center Longitude: 210.5° E
Resolution: 698 meters/pixel
Scale: Tyagaraja crater (center) is approximately 97 km (60 mi.) in north-south diameter
Incidence Angle: 30.2°
Emission Angle: 57.5°
Phase Angle: 83.8°
North is up in this image.

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

Botticelli Crater

Today's featured image highlights the first set of color images from a new imaging campaign: minimum-phase-angle color. Near the north polar region, the incidence angle (measured from the vertical) is always high because the Sun is low on the horizon. The minimum-phase-angle color campaign acquires images from as close to the direction of solar illumination as possible, which minimizes the phase angle and thus the shadows in a given area. 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.

With this imaging campaign, the MESSENGER team will be searching for spectral differences among Mercury's northern smooth plains and the ejecta of craters that could indicate compositional differences. In today's image you can see a portion of Botticelli crater, which does not appear to have a strong color contrast from its surroundings.

Date acquired: March 21, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 6148727, 6148718, and 6148724
Image ID: 3731063, 3731060, 3731062
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: 62.14°
Center Longitude: 248.1° E
Resolution: 316 meters/pixel
Scale: Botticelli crater is approximately 120 km (75 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.3°
Emission Angle: 49.2°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
North is up in this image.

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

Changes to Valles and Catenae on Mercury

From the USGS Astrogeology Science Center:

The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved some changes for Mercury nomenclature. Arecibo Vallis has been changed to Arecibo Catena, Goldstone Vallis has been changed to Goldstone Catena, Haystack Vallis has been changed to Haystack Catena, and Simeiz Vallis has been dropped. The theme for catenae on Mercury is "Radio telescope facilities," and the theme for valles is "Abandoned cities (or towns or settlements) of antiquity." For more information, see the feature categories in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Debussy and Berkel Rays Together

Even when they're not in the picture, craters Debussy and Berkel still leave their mark. The rays of Debussy, outside of the image to the southwest, and Berkel to the northeast, cross the scene.

Date acquired: March 03, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4620855
Image ID: 3622493
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: -18.53°
Center Longitude: 19.80° E
Resolution: 449 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 570 km (354 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 31.7°
Emission Angle: 51.4°
Phase Angle: 28.0°
North is up in this image.

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

Pahinui Crater

One of nine newly named craters, Pahinui crater has intriguing pits surrounding its central peak. Pahinui crater is named for the Hawaiian musician Gabby Pahinui, a key figure in the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance and master of the slack-key guitar, a style that originated in Hawaii.

Date acquired: July 31, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220635824
Image ID: 575089
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -28.30°
Center Longitude: 146.9° E
Resolution: 139 meters/pixel
Scale: Pahinui crater is 54 km (34 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 77.3°
Emission Angle: 22.5°
Phase Angle: 99.9°

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

Aksakov Impact Basin

The 173-km-diameter Aksakov basin was named in 2012, and has a prominent peak ring that hosts multiple hollows. A large portion of its peak ring is missing, however, destroyed when the crater in this image was formed. But this crater has interesting features of its own, including wall slumps and hollows on its smooth floor.

Date acquired: February 12, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 2952642
Image ID: 3503669
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 34.8°
Center Longitude: 280.9° E
Resolution: 37 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater in this image is approximately 40 km (25 mi.) from top to bottom
Incidence Angle: 80.8°
Emission Angle: 52.5°
Phase Angle: 28.3°
(North is down in this image.)

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

Volcanic Vent Northeast of Rachmaninoff Basin

We have seen this distinctive, irregular depression before -- in 2009 and again last year -- but never at this resolution.

The depression differs considerably from impact craters (it has no raised rim and an outline that is far from circular), and is surrounded by a smooth, velvety texture. Interpreted by scientists as a volcanic vent, the smooth texture is actually a blanket of very fine particles of lava that were ejected explosively from the vent in a pyroclastic eruption. Striations in the walls of the vent are visible in this image, as are very small impact craters that post-date the vent's formation.

Date acquired: February 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 3843866
Image ID: 3567175
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 36.1°
Center Longitude: 63.8° E
Resolution: 26 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is approximately 25 km (16 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 68.6°
Emission Angle: 11.9°
Phase Angle: 80.4°
(North is up in this image.)

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

Tectonic Complexity in Mercury's Impact Features

Mercury's surface is covered with impact craters, many of which have been flooded by lavas. A subset of flooded impact features host tectonic structures -- graben (shown in red in the figure above) and ridges and scarps (blue) -- that formed during or after volcanic infilling. Such impact features range from so-called "ghost craters" through medium-sized basins such as Mozart, to the largest basins on Mercury, including Rembrandt and the mighty Caloris. Mapping these structures, and so characterizing their nature and spatial and temporal distributions, helps scientists understand the processes responsible for the tectonic complexity within volcanically infilled craters and basins on Mercury.

Date released: February 1, 2013
Center Latitude: (a) 60.3°, (b) 7.8°, (c) -33.5°, (d) 30°
Center Longitude: (a) 36.7° E, (b) 169.6° E, (c) 88°E, (d) 161°E
Projection: Orthographic

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

Impact Crater Wall Terraces

Wall terraces are landforms common to impact craters and basins across Mercury. The fault-bound cliff in this image forms part of the wall of an unnamed peak-ring basin (which also hosts hollows). The low-angle lighting in the scene creates dramatic shadows at the base of the rim terrace, which is almost 1.5 km (1 mi.) high.

Date acquired: February 13, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 3038847
Image ID: 3509826
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42.20°
Center Longitude: 292.10° E
Resolution: 22 meters/pixel
Scale: The field of view in this image is approximately 20 km (12 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 73.6°
Emission Angle: 9.8°
Phase Angle: 63.8°
(North is down in this image.)

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

Nine Mercurian Craters Named

From the USGS Astrogeology Science Center:

The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved new names for nine craters on Mercury: Alver, Donelaitis, Flaiano, Hurley, L'Engle, Lovecraft, Pahinui, Petőfi, and Roerich. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

A Tribute to Messenger

This video showcases a small sampling of the thousands of images taken by the spacecraft, as well as animations illustrating how MESSENGER moves in orbit and how its orbit has changed during the mission.

The opening sequence is from the approach images from the first flyby in 2008. The first animation to follow (at 0:15) shows MESSENGER in its primary mission 12-hour orbit. The relevance of the November 9, 2011, date is that this was when the MESSENGER team was advised that NASA had approved the proposal for an extended mission, allowing the mission to continue making new observations from March 2012 to March 2013. The animation at 0:22 gives you an idea of the movement and gyrations ("dancing") that the spacecraft undergoes while it performs a schedule packed full of observations that take place over one Earth day. The animation sequence at 0:59 gives you a "top down" view over Mercury's north pole from when MESSENGER first went into orbit until several months into the extended mission. The apparent size of the orbit shrinks from the start of the animation to the end, as shortly into the extended mission, MESSENGER's orbital period was shrunk from 12-hours to 8-hours. The animation sequence at 1:44 shows MESSENGER's "dance" on the first day of the extended mission. The other images and embedded movies can be found in the Gallery section of the MESSENGER website.

Some highlight images of note include:

At 0:48 - Blue rays of Bek crater
At 0:54 - Basho crater
At 0:57 - Poe crater in Caloris basin
At 1:17 - MASCS instrument surface scans in ultraviolet and infrared
At 1:19 - A perspective view of the northern polar region, color-coded to MLA topography
At 1:27 - Rembrandt impact basin
At 1:29 - Rembrandt impact basin superimposed on the US for size comparison
At 1:34 - Rachmaninoff impact basin, 3D effect crated using the digital elevation model
At 1:34 - Debussy crater
At 1:58 - Beagle rupes
At 2:04 - Mosaic view of north pole, showing the shadowed regions
At 2:06 - As previous, with superimposed radar data indicating likely water-ice deposits
At 2:11 - A volcanic vent near the edge of Caloris basin
At 2:34 - Derain crater
At 2:36 - Disney crater and two unnamed craters that resemble Mickey Mouse
At 2:38 - Basho crater while the Sun is low in the sky
At 2:40 - Basho crater again, but now with the Sun nearly overhead
At 2:45 - Degas crater
At 2:58 - 'Weird terrain' at the Caloris antipode
At 3:03 - Waters crater with the 'blue tongue' of dark impact melt material
At 3:10 - Seuss crater
At 3:13 - Caloris basin
At 3:15 - Pit in Scarlatti crater, with prominent hollows on the pit rim
At 3:17 - Enhanced color of Caloris basin
At 3:22 - A lava channel that had flowed into the Kofi crater
At 3:29 - More detail of Caloris basin floor
At 3:30 - The young, bright-rayed Mena crater
At 3:37 - Central peaks of Eminescu crater, with hollows around the bases of the peaks
At 3:39 - Apollodorus and Pantheon fossae
At 3:41 - The hollows on the floor of Sander crater

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a year-long extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

Video credit: Images and animation stills courtesy NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. Music: "Mercury Ridge" by Simon Wilkinson (thebluemask.com). Video creation and time-lapse animations by Mark 'Indy' Kochte.

Crater Hollows

This stunning view shows a host of hollows along the rim and floor of a 42-km-diameter (26-mi-diameter) crater. The hollow-covered rim to the right in this image is shared between this younger, smaller crater and an older, 120-km-diameter (75-mi.-diameter) crater, inside of which the smaller crater formed. The sun was high in the sky when this image was taken, making the bright hollows easy to see. North is to the right.

Date acquired: March 06, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4881055
Image ID: 3640892
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 25.60°
Center Longitude: 356.2° E
Resolution: 30 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is approximately 42 km (26 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 26.6°
Emission Angle: 52.9°
Phase Angle: 78.2°

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

Impact Craters

The large, unnamed crater in this image shares part of its wall with the younger, smaller (42 km/26 mi) unnamed crater that formed inside of it. The floor and rim of the smaller crater contains many hollows, which are difficult to make out in this high-incidence-angle image.

Date acquired: April 14, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 242883079
Image ID: 1646270
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 24.62°
Center Longitude: 357.7° E
Resolution: 172 meters/pixel
Scale: The largest crater in this image is approximately 120 km (75 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 85.2°
Emission Angle: 42.1°
Phase Angle: 127.4°

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

Berkel Crater

Berkel crater, named for Turkish painter and printmaker Sabri Berkel, is a complex crater that sits inside of the larger Ellington basin. Berkel's interior contains material that is darker than the surrounding terrain, as well as hollows, indicating the presence of dark material at depth.

This image was 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: February 25, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 4159492
Image ID: 3589683
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -13.85°
Center Longitude: 26.56° E
Resolution: 71 meters/pixel
Scale: Berkel crater is approximately 24 km (15 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 30.3°
Emission Angle: 29.3°
Phase Angle: 52.6°

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

Theophanes Crater

This image shows the crater Theophanes, which was originally imaged by Mariner 10. It is named after the Byzantine iconographer known as Theophanes the Greek. Though he was born in Constantinople, the capitol of the Byzantine Empire, around 1340 CE, Theophanes spent most of his life in Russia, where he moved in 1370 CE. It was in Russia that he gained notoriety as an icon painter. Some of his more prominent works include Our Lady of the Don and the Transfiguration of Christ. He is also known as the teacher and mentor of the great medieval Russian painter Andrei Rublev, the eponym of Rublev crater.

Date acquired: October 03, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 257735204
Image ID: 2694715
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -5.04°
Center Longitude: 217.2° E
Resolution: 74 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater Theophanes has diameter of ~46 km ( 29 mi.).
Incidence Angle: 69.3°
Emission Angle: 2.2°
Phase Angle: 71.6°

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

Thrust Fault Scarp on Mercury

The figure above shows an oblique view of a 280 km long scarp. The color scale on this figure represents elevation in which red is high and blue is low. This scarp is interpreted to be a surface-breaking thrust fault. Thrust faults are surface manifestations of the shrinkage of the planet resulting from the cooling of its interior. Notice that the terrain on the left side of the scarp stands about 2 km higher than that of the right side of the scarp. To give you a sense of the scale of this scarp, the state of Delaware has been superposed on the figure.

Center Latitude: 58.18°
Center Longitude: 307.69° E
Scale: The crater that is being cross-cut by this scarp is about 108 km (67 mi.) in diameter.

Illustration 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

Balzac Crater

This image shows the crater Balzac. It is named for the French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac. Balzac wrote 91 novels and short stories between 1829 and his death in 1850. His novels span several very different genres, including psychological, realistic, fantasy, philosophical, and political novels. Balzac's novels and short stories revealed him to be an extraordinary observer and, therefore, an excellent chronicler of contemporary French society. What a scientist he would have made!

Date acquired: November 27, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262546208
Image ID: 3036718
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 11.08°
Center Longitude: 215.1° E
Resolution: 55 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater Balzac is ~67 km ( ~42 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 36.3°
Emission Angle: 42.3°
Phase Angle: 78.3°

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

Impact Craters

A pair of craters, each with well-developed central peaks, can be seen in this high-resolution image. In the larger crater, a series of broad central peaks form a ring, while in the smaller, younger crater, one steep central peak dominates the central uplift.

Date acquired: November 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262402154
Image ID: 3026494
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 11.66°
Center Longitude: 245.8° E
Resolution: 48 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is 49 km (30 miles) across.
Incidence Angle: 65.7°
Emission Angle: 0.4°
Phase Angle: 65.3°

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

Impact Crater Near Picasso Crater

The floor of this unnamed crater, located southeast of Picasso crater, exhibits dark material on the southern crater floor at the base of multiple central peaks. Bright hollows cover the tops of the peaks, resembling a white heart on the dark background.

Date acquired: August 01, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 252323851
Image ID: 2309748
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -3.42°
Center Longitude: 54.44° E
Resolution: 98 meters/pixel
Scale: The unnamed large crater is about 35 km (22 miles) across.
Incidence Angle: 28.5°
Emission Angle: 17.1°
Phase Angle: 45.6°

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

Nobokov Crater

The crater Nobokov exhibits a rugged basin ring and degraded crater rim. The inset color image suggests that the basin floor may be of a slightly different composition than the surrounding material. The inset color image is a composite of the MDIS Wide Angle Camera filters with the 1000-nm filter depicted in red, the 750-nm filter depicted in green, and the 430-nm filter depicted in blue. The blueish hue in the color image reveals that Nabokov has a slightly shallower spectral slope than many of the younger volcanic terrains on Mercury.

Date acquired: January 10, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234661409
Image ID: 1246800
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -14.57°
Center Longitude: 55.18° E
Resolution: 137 meters/pixel
Scale: Nabokov crater is 166 km (103 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 62.7°
Emission Angle: 2.2°
Phase Angle: 60.5°

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

Fresh Impact Crater

This high-resolution image reveals the shape of a small, fresh crater on Mercury. In the inset color image, which is a composite of the MDIS Wide Angle Camera filters with the 1000-nm filter depicted in red, the 750-nm filter depicted in green, and the 430-nm filter depicted in blue, this crater is so bright relative to the surroundings that it appears to be close to the same size as the crater to its west. However, from this main image, it is clear that this bright crater is less than half the size of its neighbor. Small craters like this are extremely valuable scientifically, as they excavate material that has been sheltered from the harsh space environment and what is known as space weathering. By studying their spectral properties, scientists can begin to understand both the composition of the surface and how space weathering alters the uppermost surface of the planet.

Date acquired: August 02, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220762382
Image ID: 581250
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 42.37°
Center Longitude: 8.06° E
Resolution: 45 meters/pixel
Scale: The small, fresh crater is about 3.5 km (2.2 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 67.2°
Emission Angle: 57.0°
Phase Angle: 124.2°

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

Chao Meng-Fu Crater

Because of the small axial tilt of Mercury's pole of rotation, several of the craters in this south polar image are shrouded in permanent shadow. Earth-based radar observations have found that these craters also host radar-bright material that is likely water ice. In the furthest southern portion of this image, the rim of the large crater Chao Meng-Fu rises from the darkness.

Date acquired: September 07, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 223925708
Image ID: 730957
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -86.25°
Center Longitude: 303.9° E
Resolution: 268 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is 385 kilometers (239 miles) from corner to corner.
Incidence Angle: 87.9°
Emission Angle: 7.1°
Phase Angle: 80.8°

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

Mercury

The view shown here is similar to an earlier one, posted in October 2011, but now the coverage is more complete. The globe on the left was created from the MDIS monochrome surface morphology base map campaign. The globe on the right was produced from the MDIS color base map campaign. Each map is composed of thousands of images, and the color view was created by using 3 of the 8 color filters acquired. (1000, 750, and 430 nm wavelengths are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively.) On March 8, 2013, these global maps will be publicly released at full resolution by NASA's Planetary Data System.

Instrument: Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 75° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles).
Map Projection: orthographic

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

Prokofiev Crater

Prokofiev, named in August 2012 for the Russian composer, is the largest crater in Mercury's north polar region to host radar-bright material. MESSENGER has found evidence that within the cold, dark, permanently shadowed regions of Prokofiev, water ice is exposed on the surface.

Date acquired: January 07, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 266090610
Image ID: 3288616
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 2 (700 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 84.90°
Center Longitude: 68.75° E
Resolution: 79 meters/pixel
Scale: Prokofiev has a diameter of 112 kilometers (70 miles).
Incidence Angle: 84.9°
Emission Angle: 6.1°
Phase Angle: 78.8°

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

Xiao Zhao Crater

The crater shown here is Xiao Zhao, a relatively young crater with a prominent system of bright rays. This image is extremely similar to one acquired previously, and that is by design. Certain features, like Xiao Zhao and locations with hollows, are being repeatedly imaged to look for any slight hints of change.

Date acquired: December 19, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264389643
Image ID: 3167776
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 10.64°
Center Longitude: 123.9° E
Resolution: 58 meters/pixel
Scale: Xiao Zhao has a diameter of 24 kilometers (15 miles).
Incidence Angle: 20.3°
Emission Angle: 40.8°
Phase Angle: 58.5°

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

Mercury's Limb Near the Caloris Basin

This striking view is located near the rim of the large Caloris basin. The rim of Caloris is marked by hills and mountains, some of which can be seen in the distance in this image.

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: December 18, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264299214
Image ID: 3161641
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6°
Center Longitude: 149° E
Additional Location Information: The mountain on the horizon on the left side of the image is at roughly 13°, 152° E
Scale: The bottom of this image is about 210 kilometers (130 miles) across.

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

Mercury, Enhanced (2)

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.

Young crater rays, extending radially from fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material", thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The crater in the upper right whose rays stretch across the planet is Hokusai.

To see the other side of the planet view this image.

To watch a movie of this colorful view of Mercury as a spinning globe click here or visit the mission's Movie Page.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 320° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Map Projection: orthographic

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

Mercury, Enhanced (1)

This colorful view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. These colors are not what Mercury would look like to the human eye, but rather the colors enhance the chemical, mineralogical, and physical differences between the rocks that make up Mercury's surface.

Young crater rays, extending radially from fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material", thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The giant Caloris basin is the large circular tan feature located just to the upper right of center of the image.

To see the other side of the planet view this image.

To watch a movie of this colorful view of Mercury as a spinning globe click here or visit the mission's Movie Page.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 0°
Center Longitude: 140° E
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Map Projection: orthographic

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

Rachmaninoff Impact Basin

This is a still image taken from a rotating movie of Mercury's Rachmaninoff impact basin. An enhanced-color image has been draped over a digital elevation model of the surface. The vertical exaggeration is 7 times. The basin's outer rim is about 306 km in diameter and the inner (peak) ring is about 140 km in diameter. The smooth plains within the center appear tan in this presentation, emphasizing their compositional contrast with the dark, bluer rocks that form the peak ring mountains. Images from the Mercury Dual Imaging System on board NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft were processed to provide the color and elevation information used to create this view.

The color base map shown here consists of MDIS images taken through eight different color filters. It is part of a global color map that covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of about 1 kilometer per pixel.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 27.8°
Center Longitude: 58° E

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

Note: For a video showing a 360-degree view of this impact basin, click here.

Mercury Global Map

A global color map of Mercury's surface has been created by mosaicking thousands of sets of images obtained by the MESSENGER Wide Angle Camera (WAC). The colors shown here are related to variations in the spectral reflectance across the planet. This view captures both compositional differences and differences in how long materials have been exposed at Mercury's surface. Young crater rays, arrayed radially around fresh impact craters, appear light blue or white. Medium- and dark-blue areas are a geologic unit of Mercury's crust known as the "low-reflectance material," thought to be rich in a dark, opaque mineral. Tan areas are plains formed by eruption of highly fluid lavas. The large circular area near the top center is the Caloris impact basin, whose interior is filled with smooth, somewhat younger volcanic plains. Small orangish spots are materials deposited by explosive volcanic eruptions.

The color base map shown here consists of MDIS images taken through eight different color filters. It is part of a global color map that covers more than 99% of Mercury's surface with an average resolution of about 1 kilometer per pixel.

Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS). This is an enhanced-color presentation created from a statistical combination of images taken through eight of the WAC filters.

Video credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington; text credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Note: Available on the original NASA webpage are two different size maps available for download: a smaller 6.5 MB video and a larger 23 MB video.

Stieglitz Crater

At the bottom of this image is a part of the rim of crater Stieglitz. Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer who lived from 1864 to 1946. His wife, painter Georgia O'Keeffe, is honored by a crater on the planet Venus.

Date acquired: July 21, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 219733996
Image ID: 532053
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 74.73°
Center Longitude: 66.86° E
Resolution: 108 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater at the top of the image is about 26 km (16 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 78.3°
Emission Angle: 0.2°
Phase Angle: 78.3°

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

Ahmad Baba Basin

Today's image is a view of Ahmad Baba, a classic Mercurian peak-ring basin. Ahmad (Ahmed) Baba was a West African writer who lived from 1556-1627. The Malian city of Timbuktu is home to the Ahmed Baba Institute, a library and research center named in his honor. The Institute is home to over 18,000 ancient manuscripts.

Date acquired: December 14, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 232373246
Image ID: 1136317
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 58.43°
Center Longitude: 231.7° E
Resolution: 250 meters/pixel
Scale: The basin's main ring is about 126 km (78 mi.) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 71.5°
Emission Angle: 0.5°
Phase Angle: 71.0°

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

Southern Hemisphere Craters

The set of images shown here in color was acquired as part of a sequence intended to monitor any changes in the calibration of the multispectral Wide Angle Camera over time, but it also gives a beautiful view of Mercury's cratered southern hemisphere. The craters Magritte, Neruda, and Sher-Gil can be spotted within this scene. North is to the top-left of the image.

Date acquired: December 17, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264237810, 264237814, 264237830
Image ID: 3157538, 3157539, 3157543
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, and 6 (996, 748, and 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: -59.16°
Center Longitude: 149.3° E
Resolution: 1,663 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is over 1,900 km (1,180 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 59.2°
Emission Angle: 28.8°
Phase Angle: 78.1°

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

Peaks from an Unnamed Crater

The central peaks of an unnamed 38-km crater fill this scene. The sun is coming from the left side of the frame, so that the peaks cast their shadows to the right. North is to the right in this image.

Date acquired: December 15, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264103036
Image ID: 3147414
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 76.84°
Center Longitude: 139.9° E
Resolution: 12 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is 13 km (8 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.0°
Emission Angle: 12.6°
Phase Angle: 71.2°

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

Atget Crater

Though Mercury is not known for having an especially colorful surface, some regions show a strong local contrast in color. Like other craters in Caloris, the interior and ejecta of Atget are darker and bluer than the typical brown volcanic plains. These craters help scientists to get a look at the three-dimensional compositional variations with the Caloris basin, and provide a way to judge the thickness of the volcanic plains (over 2 km here!). North is up in this image.

Date acquired: December 09, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 263555174, 263555178, 263555194
Image ID: 3108404, 3108405, 3108409
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filters: 9, 7, and 6 (996, 748, and 433 nanometers) in red, green, and blue
Center Latitude: 25.92°
Center Longitude: 166.2° E
Resolution: 224 meters/pixel
Scale: Atget is 100 km (62 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 25.9°
Emission Angle: 52.6°
Phase Angle: 78.5°

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

Sibelius Crater

The central peaks of Sibelius crater are not actually so central, but instead are offset to the southwestern side of the crater. The smooth, flat surfaces surrounding the peaks are composed of solidified impact melt, which pooled in the crater floor and outside the rim but is concentrated to the northeast. These observations suggest that the impactor that formed Sibelius came at an oblique angle from the southwest, with central peaks offset up-range and melt splashing out of the crater down-range. The crater is still largely circular, as only the very shallowest impact angles result in oblique craters such as Hovnatanian. North is up in this image.

Date acquired: December 05, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 263234346
Image ID: 3085867
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -48.83°
Center Longitude: 213.9° E
Resolution: 155 meters/pixel
Scale: Sibelius crater is 92 km (57 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 60.3°
Emission Angle: 35.9°
Phase Angle: 32.8°

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

Crater in Caloris Basin

You may have noticed that one of the details we give for each image is the Mission Elapsed Time, or MET, of when it was acquired. MET is the time, in seconds, since the MESSENGER mission began in 2004. As a testament to how long MESSENGER has been in space (over eight years!), the number of seconds has added up to over 250 million, and has come close to reaching the limit of how high the spacecraft clock can count. Thus in January, the MESSENGER team reset the clock, starting over at a time of 1,000 seconds. Why 1,000 seconds rather than zero? The MET clock was originally set to start counting 1,000 seconds before launch, so that launch was actually at an MET of 1,000 rather than zero; the clock reset follows that precedent.

Today's image was acquired at an "MET" of 129,781 seconds, or a day and a half after the count started over. This image shows an interesting crater in the Caloris basin. Craters of irregular shape are often thought to be formed from processes other than impact events, but this crater could be a cluster of several smaller craters or its shape could have been modified by the wrinkle ridge that crosses the scene from northwest to southeast. North is up in this image.

Date acquired: January 10, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 129781
Image ID: 3302953
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 28.08°
Center Longitude: 144.6° E
Resolution: 28 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 28 km (17 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 77.1°
Emission Angle: 0.7°
Phase Angle: 76.4°

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

Kipling Crater

The Kipling crater was originally circular, but that changed when the crater in this image was formed. Situated atop (and so postdating) the southern margin of Kipling, this smaller, younger crater has a distinctive central peak that is encircled by a curious, near-circular depression. This depression may be a volcanic pit, like others that dot the surface Mercury -- one of which even occurs in Kipling. The smooth floor of this crater shows subtle evidence of tectonic deformation, like that seen in many other infilled craters across the planet.

Date acquired: January 03, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234068866
Image ID: 1218101
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: -20.83°
Center Longitude: 73.02° E
Resolution: 104 meters/pixel
Scale: This crater is ~88 km (55 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 67.2°
Emission Angle: 58.7°
Phase Angle: 28.2°
North is to the bottom-right corner of this image.

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

Low Scarp

The surface of Mercury has been extensively deformed by tectonic activity, with most of that activity due to the global-scale contraction of the planet as its interior cooled. This tectonic deformation is largely manifest as contractional lobate scarps, many of which are hundreds or even thousands of meters high. This image shows a scarp only ~150 m (500 ft.) high, considerably smaller than many of its peers across the planet. This structure's relatively small size suggests either that it accommodated but a relatively small amount of deformation over its lifetime, or that it is one of the youngest lobate scarps on Mercury.

Date acquired: April 04, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 234154717
Image ID: 1222306
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 29.31°
Center Longitude: 91.01° E
Resolution: 46 meters/pixel
Scale: The crater to the top right is ~18 km (11 mi.) in diameter
Incidence Angle: 51.6°
Emission Angle: 14.5°
Phase Angle: 38.1°
North is to the bottom-right corner of this image.

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