Hollows on Mercury are sometimes associated with pyroclastic deposits. This association is illustrated here, in this view of the floor of Mistral crater. The large irregular depressions are volcanic vents from which explosive eruptions ejected pyroclastic material. The small depressions with bright halos are hollows.

Gabriela Mistral was a Chilean poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1945. The English title of her first great collection of poems was "Despair" (1922). Two years later "Tenderness" was published. Both volumes exhibited her "her lyric poetry... inspired by powerful emotions."

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: April 24, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 243797555
Image ID: 1703566
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 4.31°
Center Longitude: 305.6° E
Resolution: 32 meters/pixel
Scale: The scene is about 33 km (21 mi.) across
Incidence Angle: 68.0°
Emission Angle: 6.0°
Phase Angle: 74.1°
North is up in this image.

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. During the first two years of orbital operations, 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.