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> Mercury seen by Messenger spacecraft

Mercury seen by Messenger spacecraft

author: Nasa/JHUAPL/ Carnegie Institution of Washington/Novapix

reference: a-mer04-00026

Image Size 300 DPI: 38 * 38 cm

The spectacular image shows the departing planet taken about 90 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach to Mercury on october 6 2008. The bright crater just south of the center of the image is Kuiper, identified on images from the Mariner 10 mission in the 1970s. For most of the terrain east of Kuiper, toward the limb (edge) of the planet, the departing images are the first spacecraft views of that portion of Mercury's surface. A striking characteristic of this newly imaged area is the large pattern of rays that extend from the northern region of Mercury to regions south of Kuiper. This extensive ray system appears to emanate from a relatively young crater newly imaged by MESSENGER, providing a view of the planet distinctly unique from that obtained during MESSENGER's first flyby. This young, extensively rayed crater, along with the prominent rayed crater to the southeast of Kuiper, near the limb of the planet, were both seen in Earth-based radar images of Mercury but not previously imaged by spacecraft. Image recolored.

Keywords for this photo:

2008 - ASTRONOMY - IMPACT CRATER - KUIPER - MERCURY - MESSENGER - PLANET -