Incredible ‘sideways` look at Mercury`s limb

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 10:20 in Astronomy & Space

Wow -- just wow! Here’s a unique, jaw-dropping, and beautiful look at Mercury from the MESSENGER spacecraft, in a mosaic created from nine images taken by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS). The camera took a “sideways” or oblique view of Mercury’s limb, looking towards the horizon, providing a distinctive look at the rough terrain, ridges, craters and scarps of the Van Eyck Formation region, adjacent to the Caloris basin. Combining the images for a larger view not only provides a “you are there” feel, but it provides the science team with new ways to study Mercury’s geology.

Read the whole article on Physorg

More from Physorg

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net