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MESSENGER gets two planets for the price of one

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla

2009/10/02 12:49 CDT

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Here's a pretty shot of Mercury taken by MESSENGER on approach. I've posted such approach images already, though, making this one relatively non-newsworthy...but wait, what's that tiny little speck in the lower left corner of the photo?

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Mercury and Venus from MESSENGER

On approach to its third flyby of Mercury, MESSENGER snapped these views of the planet with its wide-angle camera (top) and narrow-angle camera (bottom) at nearly the same time. The wide-angle camera has a field of view seven times the width of the narrow-angle camera, at seven times lower resolution. Credit: NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only a tiny speck. I still think the photo is awfully cool.

That image is cropped from this one that they released today, which nicely demonstrates the difference in the views you get through MESSENGER's wide- and narrow-angle cameras. It's the norm for spacecraft to carry at least two different camera instruments. Typically there's one wide-angle camera, which can take in a large amount of the sky (or a planet) in one view at relatively low resolution, and one narrow-angle camera, which can capture much higher-resolution pictures but at a cost of seeing much less in each field of view. MESSENGER's wide-angle camera has a 10.5-degree field of view, while its narrow-angle camera has a 1.5-degree field of view. So the narrow-angle camera has seven times higher resolution, but it would take 49 narrow-angle camera images to cover the area that you can see in one wide-angle camera shot.

NASA / JHUAPL / CIW

Why, it's Venus! The solar system is really a very empty place, so it's quite remarkable that MESSENGER just happened to catch two planets in one camera frame. But it really is Venus; you can tell from this simulated view from JPL's Solar System Simulator. Yeah, Venus is only

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