In and Out of Caloris

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Caption:

Small knobs and crater rims just barely catch the sunlight with the Sun low on Mercury's eastern horizon. The relatively smooth floor of the Caloris basin is on the right, and the rim and exterior of the basin are to the left. The knobby texture outside of the basin may be the result of blocks of material that were ejected by the basin-forming impact.

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-incidence-angle base map. The high-incidence-angle base map complements the surface morphology base map of MESSENGER's primary mission that was acquired under generally more moderate incidence angles. High incidence angles, achieved when the Sun is near the horizon, result in long shadows that accentuate the small-scale topography of geologic features. The high-incidence-angle base map was acquired with an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.

Date acquired: April 27, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 244054579
Image ID: 1721895
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 40.19°
Center Longitude: 140.5° E
Resolution: 270 meters/pixel
Scale: This scene is approximately 492 km (306 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 88.2°
Emission Angle: 53.7°
Phase Angle: 142.0°

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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