* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: MESSENGER

Blobrana · L

Expand (144kb, 1018 x 1024)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This image was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe, when it was 15,900 kilometres away from Mercury.
The image shows smooth plains and lava flooded craters which are evidence of volcanism on the planet.
The image scale is 400 metres/pixel

Blobrana · L

Expand (93kb, 993 x 1113)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This mosaic was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe, about 78 minutes prior to closest approach, when it was 16,200 kilometres away from Mercury.
The NAC acquired 62 high-resolution images of not previously imaged terrain.

Blobrana · L

Expand (132kb, 1018 x 1024)

Expand (42kb, 560 x 560)

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This image was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe, when it was 15,000 kilometres away from Mercury.
The image shows the rim of the Rembrandt impact basin (highlighted in Red) with two scarps (cliffs that have been highlighted in the image by yellow arrows). The scarps were created by deformation due to faulting (highlighted with blue arrows).
The image scale is 390 metres/pixel

Blobrana · L

Paw print crater

Blobrana · L

RE: MESSENGER

Blobrana · L

Expand (205kb, 1024 x 1024)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This image was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe, about 78 minutes prior to closest approach, when it was 16,200 kilometres away from Mercury.
This image shows the terminator, the dividing line between the sunlit and night side of the planet. The prominent crater near the middle of the left edge of the image is approximately 100 kilometres in diameter.

Blobrana · L

Expand (192kb, 720 X 1400)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

These images all show the same region on Mercury.
The image on the left was captured on the Messenger spaceprobes second flyby, on the 6th October 2008. The image on the right was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe.
The images below are simple cylindrical projections of them, with a few bright craters which are labelled with letters to help locate the other features.
The distance from "A" to "B" in the lower panel is about 300 kilometres.

Blobrana · L

Expand (254kb, 1018 X 1024)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This image shows a bean-shaped pit-floor crater inside the large crater near the center. The pit-floor craters may be evidence of volcanic processes.
The image was captured on the 29th September, 2009, by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe when it was 15,200 kilometres away.
The image scale is 390 metres/pixel.

Blobrana · L

Expand (49kb, 1024 x 1024)
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

This series of images were captured between the 3rd to the 4th October, 2009, 2009, by the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) aboard the Messenger spaceprobe, when it was between 1,030,000 and 1,500,000 kilometres away from Mercury.
The images show the differing phase angles as the spaceprobe travelled away from the planet.