This image shows a rimless, irregular depression that appears brighter than the surrounding material. Such features are thought to be volcanic vents. The shadowed, curved feature leading into the vent is a fault scarp, also called rupes. This image was taken using the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC).

This image was acquired as part of MDIS's high-resolution albedo base map. The best images for discerning variations in albedo, or brightness, on the surface are acquired when the Sun is overhead, so these images typically are taken with low incidence angles. The albedo base map is a major mapping campaign in MESSENGER's extended mission and will cover Mercury's surface at an average resolution of 200 meters/pixel.

Date acquired: April 07, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 242295873
Image ID: 1617548
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 15.45°
Center Longitude: 247.4° E
Resolution: 109 meters/pixel
Scale: The left limb of the vent is 8 km (5 mi) across, and the large crater to the left side of the image is 19 km (12 mi) in diameter.
Incidence Angle: 50.0°
Emission Angle: 21.9°
Phase Angle: 72.0°

The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the Solar System's innermost planet. Visit the Why Mercury? section of this website to learn more about the key science questions that the MESSENGER mission is addressing. During the one-year primary mission, MDIS acquired 88,746 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is now in a year-long extended mission, during which plans call for the acquisition of more than 80,000 additional images to support MESSENGER's science goals.

These images are from MESSENGER, a NASA Discovery mission to conduct the first orbital study of the innermost planet, Mercury. For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy.