Hovnatanian's Close-up - Nasa Messenger Mission Image: Release Date 6 Feb 2012

Date acquired: January 16, 2012 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 235218286 Image ID: 1273501 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: -7.7° Center Longitude: 172.6° E Resolution: 58 meters/pixel Scale: Hovnatanian crater is approximately 33 km (21 mi.) long. Incidence Angle: 77.3° Emission Angle: 55.6° Phase Angle: 132.9° Of Interest: Hovnatanian crater was formed by an object that impacted at a very oblique angle, causing the crater to appear elliptical. Although impacts at most angles produce circular craters, impacts with incidence angles <15º (from the horizontal) will create elliptical craters. The rays of Hovnatanian form a "butterfly" pattern, which also indicates an oblique impact. 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