NASA MESSENGER Image of Mercury: Crater Kertesz in 3D

This is an anaglyph created from two images of the crater Kertesz. By viewing images obtained from slightly different perspectives through red-blue glasses, the brain perceives a “3-D” image. The red lens should be on the left eye. With this anaglyph, better results may be achieved by tilting the head slightly to the left. The floor of Kertesz is covered with spectacular hollows.

These images were acquired as high-resolution targeted observations. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury’s surface at resolutions much higher than the 250-meter/pixel (820 feet/pixel) morphology base map or the 1-kilometer/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel) color base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury’s surface at this high resolution during MESSENGER’s one-year mission, but several areas of high scientific interest are generally imaged in this mode each week.

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. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER’s science goals.

Date acquired: July 31, 2011 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220634378 and 220591163 Image ID: 575037 and 573112 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: 27.4° Center Longitude: 146.1° E Resolution: 17 meters/pixel Scale:Kertesz crater is about 31 km (19 mi.) in diameter. Incidence Angle: 76.4° and 75.0° Emission Angle: 30.3° and 40.9° Phase Angle: 106.7° and 115.9° Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. More images.