Contents | What's New | Image Index | Copyright | Puzzles | Posters | ScienceViews | Search |

PHOTO INDEX OF PRIMARY TARGETS ASTEROIDS COMETS EARTH JUPITER KUIPER BELT MARS MERCURY METEORITES NEPTUNE OORT CLOUD PLUTO SATURN SOLAR SYSTEM SPACE SUN URANUS VENUS ORDER PRINTS OTHER PHOTO INDEXES ALL TARGETS PHOTO CATEGORIES SCIENCEVIEWS AMPHIBIANS BIRDS BUGS FINE ART FOSSILS INDIAN INDIAN MAMMALS OTHER PARKS PLANTS RELIGIOUS REPTILES ROCKS & MINERALS SCIENCEVIEWS PRINTS

A View Over Mercury's Horizon Target Name:   Mercury Spacecraft:   MESSENGER Produced by:   NASA/JHUAPL Copyright:  Copyright Free Date Released:  October 9, 2008 Related Documents MESSENGER Reveals Mercury as Never Seen Before Mercury MESSENGER Download Options Name Type Width x Height Size VSS00111.jpg JPEG 1018 x 1024 104K VSS00111.tif TIFF 1018 x 1024 553K Date Acquired: October 6, 2008 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131766595 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Resolution: 410 meters/pixel (0.25 miles/pixel) near the bottom of the image Scale: The bottom length of the image is about 420 kilometers (260 miles) Spacecraft Altitude: 16,000 kilometers (9,900 miles) This image was taken about 54 minutes before MESSENGER's closest approach to Mercury during the mission's second flyby of the innermost planet in the Solar System. The striking image shows a view looking over Mercury's horizon into the darkness of space. The surface in this image is located in the northern portion of the sunlit, crescent-shaped planet seen as the spacecraft approached Mercury. The low Sun angle creates distinct shadows, enhancing the visibility of the roughness of the surface, which is especially prominent for material ejected from, and surrounding, the impact crater cut by the left edge of this image. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Views of the Solar System Copyright © 1995-2008 by Calvin J. Hamilton. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement