Unchained

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Caption:

Today's image reveals several secondary craters . Crater chains are produced when ejecta from a primary impact re-impacts Mercury's surface, forming chains of small, often overlapping, secondary craters. This image also features a scarp , running NE-SW along the frame.

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: July 02, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 15106971
Image ID: 4367962
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 38.10°
Center Longitude: 1.97° E
Resolution: 25 meters/pixel
Scale: The image is approximately 34.5 km (21.4 miles) across
Incidence Angle: 79.0°
Emission Angle: 41.6°
Phase Angle: 120.6°

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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