Mercury Globe: North Pole - Nasa Messenger Image: Release Date 2 Dec 2011

Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) and Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Resolution: 2.5 km/pixel Scale: Mercury's diameter is 4880 kilometers (3030 miles) Map Projection: orthographic Center Latitude: 90° Of Interest: The above image shows an orthographic projection of this global mosaic centered on Mercury's north pole. 0° longitude is down in this image. The black area at the center of this view represents the only remaining image coverage gap of Mercury when using both Mariner 10 and MESSENGER data. The north polar region of Mercury includes a vast area of smooth plains. Hokusai crater is visible just down from center, although its tremendous rays are not prominent under these lighting conditions.

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