Vivaldi crater and environs from MESSENGER

Vivaldi crater and environs from MESSENGER
Vivaldi crater and environs from MESSENGER MESSENGER took this image of Mercury on January 14, 2008 at 18:06, about an hour before the closest approach of its first flyby. The image is one frame from a 55-image mosaic of Mercury's crescent. The most prominent feature in the image is the double-ringed Vivaldi crater and its rays of secondary craters. The outer ring of Vivaldi is about 200 kilometers in diameter. Other craters in the image display a variety of degradation states; some are deep bowls with sharp central peaks, while others are flat-floored, so must have been filled in (most likely by volcanic eruptions). NASA / JHUAPL / CIW