Dramatic Darks of Derain

In this enhanced color view from NASA MESSENGER spacecraft of the peak-ring basin Derain, the different colors accentuate the different rocks associated with the basin. The smooth, interior volcanic fill of the basin, in addition to the large pits on the floor of Derain, are brighter and redder. This view was created by draping a color composite from the MDIS Wide Angle Camera (WAC) over an MDIS monochrome Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) image mosaic. The WAC enhanced color image was created with the following image channels: red = Principal Component 2, green = Principal Component 1, and blue = 430 nm to 1000 nm band ratio. Instrument: Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Latitude: -9.0° Longitude: 17.3° E Scale: Derain peak-ring basin has a diameter of 167 km (104 miles) http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19412