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> Mercury by Messenger- Jan 14 2008- Crater Vivaldi

Mercury by Messenger- Jan 14 2008- Crater Vivaldi

author: Nasa/JHUAPL/ Carnegie Institution of Washington/Novapix

reference: a-mer04-00004

Image Size 300 DPI: 9 * 9 cm

As MESSENGER approached Mercury on January 14, 2008, the spacecraft's Narrow-Angle Camera on the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) instrument captured this view of the planet's rugged, cratered landscape illuminated obliquely by the Sun. The large, shadow-filled, double ringed crater to the upper right was glimpsed by Mariner 10 more than three decades ago and named Vivaldi, after the Italian composer. Its outer ring has a diameter of about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles). This MESSENGER image was taken from a distance of about 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles), about 56 minutes before the spacecraft's closest encounter with Mercury. It shows a region roughly 500 kilometers (300 miles) across, and craters as small as 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) can be seen in this image.

Keywords for this photo:

2008 - ASTRONOMY - BLACK AND WHITE - CRATER - IMPACT CRATER - MERCURY - MESSENGER - PLANET - VIVALDI -