This color image image shows a unique view of both Mercury's terminator and limb. Visible in the center of the image is Rembrandt, whose floor appears slightly lighter than the outer ring of the basin.

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 is scheduled to acquire more than 75,000 images in support of MESSENGER's science goals.

Date acquired: July 05, 2011
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 218359401, 218359407, 218359399
Image ID: 466473, 466477, 466472
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
WAC filter: 9 (1000 nanometers), 7 (750 nanometers), 6 (430 nanometers) as red-green-blue
Center Latitude: -33.21°
Center Longitude: 83.53° E
Resolution: 5213 meters/pixel
Scale: Rembrandt's diameter is 715 kilometers (444 miles)

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.