PIA15162: Mercury Globe: 0°N, 180°E


Mercury Globe: 0°N, 180°E

Caption:

The above image shows an orthographic projection of this global mosaic centered at 0°N, 180°E. Caloris basin is prominently featured in this view, dominating the northern hemisphere. Just south of Caloris lies the 225-km-diameter basin, Mozart . Towards the center of the globe, Tolstoj is visible with an annulus of low-reflectance material . Beethoven basin is just visible along the eastern edge of the globe.

Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) and Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 2.5 km/pixel
Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles)
Map Projection: orthographic
Center Latitude:
Center Longitude: 180°

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 Narrow Angle Camera (NAC), Wide Angle Camera (WAC)
Extra Keywords Grayscale, Map, Radio
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2011-12-01
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15162
Identifier PIA15162