Sunlit Terraces

The exterior of this unnamed crater is in shadow, while the inner wall and terraces bask in the sunshine. Terraces form just after the crater has been excavated, when oversteepened slopes slump back down. This image was acquired as part of the MDIS low-altitude imaging campaign. During MESSENGER's second extended mission, the spacecraft makes a progressively closer approach to Mercury's surface than at any previous point in the mission, enabling the acquisition of high-spatial-resolution data. For spacecraft altitudes below 350 kilometers, NAC images are acquired with pixel scales ranging from 20 meters to as little as 2 meters. Date acquired: January 23, 2015 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 64352478 Image ID: 7849599 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Center Latitude: 31.48° Center Longitude: 81.89° E Resolution: 6 meters/pixel Scale: This scene is approximately 6.3 km (3.9 miles) from top to bottom Incidence Angle: 82.6° Emission Angle: 0.1° Phase Angle: 82.7° http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19196