The image above shows a potential volcanic vent within the crater Glinka. The resolution of this image is more than two times better than previous images of the same area. The crater Glinka was named for the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857). He is regarded as one of the fathers of Russian classical music. Glinka wrote several operas, piano pieces, orchestral works, and chamber music. His piece called "The Patriotic Song" was adopted as Russia's national anthem from 1990-2000.

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 200-meter/pixel morphology base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution, but typically several areas of high scientific interest are imaged in this mode each week.

Date acquired: November 26, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 262402263
Image ID: 3026496
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 14.96°
Center Longitude: 247.4° E
Resolution: 44 meters/pixel
Scale: This image is 46 km (29 mi.) across.
Incidence Angle: 67.5°
Emission Angle: 3.1°
Phase Angle: 64.5°

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. MESSENGER acquired over 150,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER is capable of continuing orbital operations until early 2015.

For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy.