Photos of Mercury from NASA's Messenger Spacecraft

News
By Tom Chao
published

Mercury Mountains in the Distance

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

This striking view of Mercury is located near the rim of the large Caloris basin. The rim of Caloris is marked by hills and mountains, some of which can be seen in the distance in this image. Image released Feb. 18, 2013.

Ahmad Baba, Mercurian Peak-Ring Basin

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

Seen here on Mars is a view of Ahmad Baba, a classic mercurian peak-ring basin. Ahmad (Ahmed) Baba was a West African writer who lived from 1556-1627. Image released Feb. 11, 2013.

Mercury's Southern Hemisphere

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

Mercury's cratered southern hemisphere is seen here. The craters Magritte, Neruda, and Sher-Gil can be spotted within this scene. North is to the top-left of the image. Image released Feb. 8. 2013.

Stieglitz Crater on Mercury

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

At the bottom of this image of Mercury is a part of the rim of crater Stieglitz. Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer who lived from 1864 to 1946. His wife, painter Georgia O'Keeffe, is honored by a crater on the planet Venus. Image released Feb. 14, 2013.

Topography of Northern Mercury

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

Topography of a portion of Mercury from 75° N northward to the pole, in shaded relief and color-coded by elevation. The map is centered at 85°N on the 110-km-diameter crater Prokofiev, whose interior lies more than 5 km below the topographic datum. The north pole lies to the left of and below the smaller craters Tolkien and Kandinsky. Image released Nov. 28, 2012.

Mercury's North Polar Regions in Shadow

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory

Shown in red are areas of Mercury’s north polar region that are in shadow in all images acquired by MESSENGER to date. Image coverage, and mapping of shadows, is incomplete near the pole. The polar deposits imaged by Earth-based radar are in yellow (from Image 2.1), and the background image is the mosaic of MESSENGER images from Image 2.2. This comparison indicates that all of the polar deposits imaged by Earth-based radar are located in areas of persistent shadow as documented by MESSENGER images. Image released Nov. 28, 2012.

Water Ice Deposits in Mercury’s North Polar Region

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory

The radar image of Mercury’s north polar region from Image 2.1 is shown superposed on a mosaic of MESSENGER images of the same area. All of the larger polar deposits are located on the floors or walls of impact craters. Deposits farther from the pole are seen to be concentrated on the north-facing sides of craters. Image released Nov. 28, 2012.

Mercury's North Polar Radar-Bright Regions

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

Perspective view of Mercury’s north polar region with the radar-bright regions shown in yellow. Image released Nov. 28, 2012.

Mercury's Pie Crust

NASA/The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/Smithsonian Institution

Wrinkle ridges and depressed troughs combine in this depressed crater in the Goethe basin on Mercury. The troughs, up to 2 kilometers wide, crosscut the outer ridge ring.

Messenger Photo of Mercury

NASA/The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/Smithsonian Institution

This Messenger photo of Mercury shows wrinkle ridges around a network of troughs that formed when the volcanic plains were stretched apart. The wrinkle-ridge ring, about 100 km in diameter, is formed over the rim of a so-called ghost crater.

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Tom Chao
Tom Chao
Tom Chao has contributed to SPACE.com as a producer and writer since 2000. As a writer and editor, he has worked for the Voyager Company, Time Inc. New Media, HarperCollins and Worth Publishers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Tom on Google+.