A Glowing Crescent Moon

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Caption:

Peak rings within large complex craters are common on Mercury. Here, within Mickiewicz, the lunate central peak ring also contains hollows , which are bright shallow depressions etched into older surfaces.

This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: April 18, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 8569855
Image ID: 3903061
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 23.15°
Center Longitude: 256.8° E
Resolution: 34 meters/pixel
Scale: The peak ring is about 18 km in diameter (11 miles).
Incidence Angle: 43.7°
Emission Angle: 20.8°
Phase Angle: 64.6°

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. MESSENGER acquired over 150,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015.

For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy .

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