Nasa Messenger Image: Dominici crater Mercury

This enhanced-colour mosaic comes from the second flyby of Mercury, which took place in October 2008, as the probe was flying away from the planet — hence the widening in the series of images.

The narrowest images, left, were taken about nine minutes after the spacecraft's nearest approach, while the widest were take at the 15-minute mark, when Messenger was twice the distance away.

The small blue crater at upper right has since been named Dominici. Click here for a larger view of the mosaic.

The name "Messenger", stands for the phrase: MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging.


Photo by Nasa/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington