This image shows a small portion of the interior of Scarlatti basin, a peak-ring basin named for Baroque composers Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti (father and son). The image is located just to the side of a large pit that lies along part of Scarlatti's peak ring. This pit may have formed by explosive volcanism.

Date acquired: April 22, 2015
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 71994228
Image ID: 8373819
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 41.05°
Center Longitude: 259.86° E
Resolution: 2.8 meters/pixel
Scale: The scene is approximately 1.4 km (0.9 mi.) across.

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. In the mission's more than four years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER's highly successful orbital mission is about to come to an end, as the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury in April 2015.

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