NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Beautiful Geometry

In this image, taken with the Narrow Angle Camera , note the coherent ring structure of Michelangelo, the two-ring impact basin to the left. The rest of this image is dominated by the continuous ejecta blanket emanating from the basin itself. This basin is named for the Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo is perhaps most widely known for his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Date acquired: March 29, 2012

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