Mercurian Limb (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)

The Rays apparent in this spectacular Limb image of Mercury come from Debussy, the sharp Crater near the Terminator. This dominant Crater on Mercury was also a part of MESSENGER's historic image of Mercury- the first image ever to be taken from a spacecraft in orbit about this Planet. Readers may also notice a streak in the blackness of space in the top left corner of the image. This artifact was produced by a Cosmic Ray hitting the camera's CCD detector while the image was being collected.
This image was acquired as part of MDIS's Limb imaging campaign. Once per week, MDIS captures images of Mercury's Limb, with an emphasis on imaging the Southern Hemisphere's Limb. These Limb images provide information about Mercury's shape and complement measurements of topography made by the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) of Mercury's Northern Hemisphere.

Date of acquisition: July, 26th, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 220137668
Image ID: 550504
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers)
Center Latitude: 27,90° South
Center Longitude: 29,17° East
Resolution: 2783 meters/pixel
Scale: Mercury's radius is approximately 2440 km (about 1515,24 miles)
Solar Incidence Angle: 65,1°
Emission Angle: 48,2°
Sun-Mercury-Spacecraft (i.e.: "Phase") Angle: 95,3°