PIA14740: Ts'ai Wen-Chi and the Long Scarp


Ts’ai Wen-Chi and the Long Scarp

Caption:

A long scarp runs vertically through the center of this image, deforming pre-existing craters along its length. At the bottom of this image, the scarp cuts through the wall and floor of the crater Ts'ai Wen-Chi (124 km diameter), named for the Han Dynasty poet and composer.

Date acquired: August 04, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220977824
Image ID: 591397
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 27.73°
Center Longitude: 337.4° E
Resolution: 432 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is approximately 600 km (370 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 81.9°
Emission Angle: 38.2°
Phase Angle: 120.2°

Background Info:

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 is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.

These images are from MESSENGER, a NASA Discovery mission to conduct the first orbital study of the innermost planet, Mercury. For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy .

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mercury
System
Target Type Planet
Mission MESSENGER
Instrument Host MESSENGER
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Detector Wide Angle Camera (WAC)
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Radio
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2011-08-23
Date in Caption 2011-08-04
Image Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14740
Identifier PIA14740