MESSENGER Captures a Shot of Kertész

MESSENGER Captures a Shot of Kertész Release Date: May 27, 2008 Date Acquired: January 14, 2008 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 108826812 Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) Resolution: 260 meter/pixel (0.16 miles/pixel) Scale: Kertész crater is 34 kilometers (21 miles) in diameter Spacecraft Altitude: 10,200 kilometers (6,340 miles) Of Interest: Located in the western edge of Mercury's giant Caloris basin, Kertész crater (recently named for André Kertész, a Hungarian-born American photographer) has some unusual, bright material located on its floor. Sander crater, located in the northwestern edge of Caloris basin, also shows bright material on its floor. The MESSENGER Science Team is investigating the nature and composition of these bright materials and making comparisons between these two craters both located at the edges of Caloris basin. Just northeast of Kertész, a small crater has very bright rays and ejecta in this image, indicating that the crater is young.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

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