| Date acquired: November 12, 2011 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229581348, 229581352, 229581356 Image ID: 1003074-1003076 Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (1000, 750, 430 nanometers) as red, green, blue Center Latitude: -0.97� Center Longitude: 234.0� E Resolution: 257 meters/pixel Scale: Mena has a diameter of 15 km (9 miles) Incidence Angle: 29.7� Emission Angle: 16.3� Phase Angle: 46.0� Of Interest: The young rays of Mena crater contrast brightly against the surrounding surface, though the rays will gradually fade with time. The asymmetric pattern of the rays, with a gap in the south-western direction, may be due to the angle at which the impact that formed the crater occurred, or to the fact that Mena formed on the rim of a larger pre-existing impact crater, as seen in this image. 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-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. | |
| Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington |
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