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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-PIA16398-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgMercurian Horizon (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)64 visiteIn this image, Mercury's Cratered Surface stretches to the Horizon. Limb images with the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) have been a part of MDIS imaging campaigns since the beginning of orbital operations. A few months ago, in June 2012, NAC images of Mercury's Limb were added to the regular weekly observations, resulting in a few images each week with dramatic views of Mercury's Horizon such as seen here.
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 Limb of the Southern Hemisphere. 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 acquired: July 17, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 250986760
Image ID: 2215464
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 30,3° South
Center Longitude: 59,4° East
Scale: the bottom of the image is approximately 300 Km (about 190 miles) in lengthMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-PIA16429-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgMercurian Horizon (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)73 visiteImages of Mercury's Limb provide information about the shape and topography of Mercury, but they also provide a sense of what it would be like to fly over the Innermost Planet, and to look out of the Spacecraft's window and toward the distant Horizon. See anywhere good to land?
Date acquired: July 24, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 251598850
Image ID: 2258481
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 18,25° South
Center Longitude: 353,70° East
Scale: the bottom of this scene is approximately 150 Km (about 93 miles) across, from left to right
Solar Incidence Angle: 58,6° (meaning that the Sun was about 31,4° above the imaged Local Horizon at the time the picture was taken)
Emission Angle: 80,0°
Sun-Mercury-MESSENGER (or "Phase") Angle: 138,6°MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-PIA16820-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSouthern Craters (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)73 visiteThe set of 3 (three) frames shown here in Absolute Natural Colors and forming this image mosaic, was acquired by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft as part of a sequence intended to monitor any changes in the calibration of the Multispectral Wide Angle Camera onboard the Spacecraft over time. However, the final result of this "calibration" also gives us a simply beautiful view of a wide portion (the whole scene is approx. 1900 Km - such as a little less of 1180 miles - across) of Mercury's heavily cratered Southern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the Impact Craters Magritte, Neruda, and Sher-Gil can be easily spotted within this scene. North is towards the top-left of the image.
Date acquired: December, 17th, 2012
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 264237810, 264237814, 264237830
Images ID: 3157538, 3157539, 3157543
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 59,16° South
Center Longitude: 149,3° East
Resolution: 1663 meters/pixel
Solar Incidence Angle: 59,2° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the pictures were taken, was about 30,8° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 28,8°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 78,1°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft color image mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 16820) has been additionally processed and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Limb-PIA17787-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgMercurian Horizon (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)61 visiteThree well known Mercurian Impact Craters are prominently featured in this view, taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on November, 16, 2013. The fascinating Peak-Ringed Impact Basin named Wang Meng (whose diameter is approx. 165 Km - such as about 102,465 miles) is visible toward the Mercurian Horizon, slightly to the left portion of the frame, while the Pit-Floored Impact Crater Glinka can be seen near the bottom left of the picture. Last, but not least, the Impact Crater known as Judah Ha Levi is about half way in between the first two that we mentioned herebefore.
Date acquired: November, 16th, 2013
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 26888421
Image ID: 5205547
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 10,04° North
Center Longitude: 251,20° East
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and NON-Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17787) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, Gamma corrected, magnified to aid the visibility of the details and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Limb of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Natural_Satellite-Caduceus-PIA15542.jpgNOT ALONE!207 visiteCaption NASA:"This discovery image provides the first evidence that Mercury has a small natural satellite or moon. Visible as a small bright spot in an image taken yesterday by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Wide Angle Camera (WAC), the moon is approximately 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter and orbits Mercury at a mean distance of 14.300 Km (such as 8890 miles). A proposal to name the moon "Caduceus", after the staff carried by the Roman god Mercury, has been submitted by the MESSENGER team to the International Astronomical Union, the body responsible for assigning names to celestial objects.
This discovery presents an unprecedented opportunity for a return of samples from the Mercury System, as Project Scientist Nat MacRulf explains. "We have yet to identify a sample from Mercury in any of the meteorite collections we have here on Earth. Such a sample would give us critical insight into the chemical composition of Mercury and the timing of crustal formation on that body, leading to a better understanding of how the planet formed and evolved. If we could obtain a sample of Caduceus, it would enhance the scientific return of the MESSENGER mission beyond our wildest dreams!"
Work on designing a scenario for sample return is already underway. MESSENGER Project Manager Burt Panini held an emergency meeting with the MESSENGER mission operations and navigation teams yesterday evening to determine if the spacecraft could be targeted toward the diminutive moon. After an intensive discussion, a unanimous decision was taken to abandon the orbit-correction maneuvers that had been planned for later this month to place the spacecraft in an eight-hour orbit. Instead, the new plan is to use the remaining propellant to crash MESSENGER into Caduceus. "Our detailed analysis tells us that if we act now, and with the right trajectory, MESSENGER will impart just enough momentum to the moon to break it free of Mercury's Gravity well and set it on an Earth-crossing trajectory suitable for recovery as a Mercury meteorite", said Panini.
This action will form the basis of a new request to NASA by the MESSENGER team for an extended extended mission, tentatively called "MESSENGER Infinitesimally Nudging Caduceus", or MIN-C for short. Once MIN-C is approved by NASA, the Spacecraft will be targeted for a collision trajectory. If Caduceus is successfully released from the pull of Mercury and placed on a course to reach Earth, we can expect the moon to arrive at Earth by 2014. "The risk to the public is reassuringly small", offers MESSENGER mission design lead Adam McJames. "We have designed a trajectory that will bring the moon to Earth at a remote location on the Wilkes Land ice sheet in Antarctica. This trajectory will avoid all population centers and will put the moon's impact site within reach for retrieval by the scientific staff at the U.S.-operated McMurdo Station".
If successful, MESSENGER's extended extended MIN-C mission will mark the first instance of the documented arrival to Earth of material from the Mercury system. Moreover, it will serve as the basis for a new Discovery-class mission proposal currently in development by the Applied Psychics Laboratory for a Mercury lander mission for in situ X-ray analysis of surface composition. That mission is to be named the Hermean On-surface Analysis with X-rays.
Date acquired: March 31, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131766564
Image ID: 6418
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 38,15° North
Center Longitude: 66,18° East
Resolution: 410 meters/pixel (0,25 miles/pixel) in the lower left corner of the image
Scale: the large crater in the center of the image (Copland) is about 210 Km (such as approx. 130 miles) in diameter.
Spacecraft Altitude: 16.200 Km (10.070 miles)
Incidence Angle: 69,1°
Emission Angle: 80,8°
Phase Angle: 138,2°MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-North_Pole-209526.jpgThe North Pole of Mercury55 visiteAs MESSENGER sped by Mercury on January 14, 2008, the NAC of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) captured this shot looking toward Mercury's North Pole.
The surface shown in this image is from the side of Mercury not previously seen by spacecraft.
The top right of this image shows the limb of the Planet, which transitions into the Terminator on the top left of the image.
Near the Terminator, the Sun illuminates surface features at a low angle, casting long shadows and causing height differences of the surface to appear more prominent in this Region.
It is interesting to compare MESSENGER's view to the North with the image looking toward the South Pole, released on January 21. Comparing these two images, it can be seen that the terrain near the South Pole is more heavily cratered while some of the Regions near the North Pole show less cratered, smooth plains material, consistent with the general observations of the poles as made by Mariner 10.
This image was acquired about 94' after MESSENGER's closest approach to Mercury, when the spacecraft was at a distance of about 32.000 Km (such as approx. 20.000 miles).
Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of image: 108830513MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Plains-PIA14193-PCF-LXTT.jpgRidged Plains (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)178 visiteDate acquired: March 30, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 209982350
Image ID: 69294
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 7 (748 nanometers wavelength)
Center Latitude: 56,5° North
Center Longitude: 23,5° East
Resolution: 187 mt/pixel
Scale: the scene is about 191 Km acrossMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Pond-PIA15203-PCF-LXTT.jpgMercurian "Pond" (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)225 visiteThis image shows a small Pond of impact melt that was ejected from a Crater just out of view. The melt ponded in this low, forming a smooth surface similar to the Melt Ponds south of Kuiper Crater. North is toward the upper right corner.
This image was acquired as a High-Resolution targeted observation. 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-Km/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.
Date acquired: November 06, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229105038
Image ID: 980525
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 63,9° North
Center Longitude: 256,5° East
Resolution: 16 meters/pixel
Scale: the smooth region is approximately 3 Km (about 1,9 miles) across
Solar Incidence Angle: 69,5° (meaning that the Sun is about 20,5° above the Local Horizon)
Emission Angle: 15,6°
Sun-Mercury-MESSENGER (such as "Phase") Angle: 85,2°MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Rupes-CN0131773865_web.pngAstrolabe Rupes (natural colors; credits: Lunexit)53 visiteDate Acquired: October 6, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131774936
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 660 meters/pixel (0,41 miles/pixel)
Scale: Ghiberti crater is approx. 123 Km in diameter (about 76 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: about 26.000 Km (approx. 16.000 miles)
Of Interest: This NAC image, taken about 85 minutes after MESSENGER’s closest approach during the mission’s second Mercury flyby, shows a view of Astrolabe Rupes, named for the ship of the French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville. Rupes is the Latin word for cliff. Mercury’s day/night transition (the Terminator) is located on the left side of the image, and the Sun is striking the cliff face of Astrolabe Rupes in the upper right of the image. Also visible in the image are additional unnamed rupes, whose cliff faces are casting dark shadows. One of these rupes intersects the crater Ghiberti, named for the Italian Renaissance sculptor. Rupes on Mercury are thought to have formed as the interior of Mercury cooled and the planet consequently contracted slightly. Determining the number and extent of rupes on Mercury can thus be used to understand the thermal history of the Planet.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Rupes-PIA11012.jpgMercurian Rupes53 visiteGiant scarps (cliffs), called rupes (see PIA10609), are believed to have formed when Mercury’s interior cooled and the entire Planet shrank slightly as a result. This figure, recently published in Science magazine, shows one of these scarps (white arrows) that is about 270 Km (approx. 170 miles) long.
This portion of Mercury’s surface was seen during the Mariner 10 flybys, but this scarp, despite its large size, was not visible in the Mariner 10 photos because the Sun was nearly overhead at the time and, consequently, the scarp did not cast a discernable shadow.
In contrast, MESSENGER acquired a mosaic of this area (see PIA10605) before the spacecraft’s closest approach to the Planet, when this portion of the Surface was near the Terminator, the line between the sunlit dayside and the dark night side of the Planet. Such lighting produced long shadows, enabling this rupes to be recognized for the first time.
Date Acquired: January 14, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): Mosaic of images from 108821370, 108821375, 108821397 and 108821402
Instrument: A: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Rupes-PIA13748-0.jpgBeagle Rupes and Impact Craters Sveinsdottir, Izquierdo and Kunisada (Context Frame)82 visiteWhen MESSENGER first flew by Mercury on January, 14th, 2008, MDIS acquired images of a large portion of Mercury's Surface that had never previously been seen by Spacecraft. This mosaic of NAC images shows some of the Geologic Features discovered during that first fly-by that have been subsequently named: the curving cliff face of Beagle Rupes, the elongated crater Sveinsdottir and the craters Izquierdo and Kunisada flooded with Lava.
This year, the MESSENGER spacecraft is positioned once again to visit the Solar System's Innermost Planet. However, this time, the Spacecraft won't just pass by. On March 18, 2011, a 15-minute maneuver will place MESSENGER in orbit around Mercury, making it the first Spacecraft ever to do so. The MESSENGER Mission will then begin an extensive year-long science campaign to unravel Mercury's mysteries.
Date Acquired: January, 14th, 2008
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Scale: Izquierdo Crater is approx. 170 Km (105,57 miles) in diameterMareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Rupes-PIA13748-1.jpgBeagle Rupes and Impact Craters Sveinsdottir, Izquierdo and Kunisada (Edited EDM)101 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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