Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

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Caption:

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°

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 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.

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

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