images

Vivaldi crater on Mercury seen by Messenger- Oct 6 2008

by

Nasa/JHUAPL/ Carnegie Institution of Washington/Novapix

Reference

a-mer04-00020

Date

2008-10-09

MESSENGER made its second flyby of the innermost planet, and captured a view of Vivaldi at sunrise. Long shadows are draped across the floor of this feature, which is actually considered a `small` double-ring basin despite having a diameter of 213 kilometers (133 miles). The low Sun illumination also highlights ridges, valleys, and chains of craters radiating away from Vivaldi.