NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Ghosts of Craters Past

This image, taken with the Wide Angle Camera (WAC), shows an area of smooth volcanic plains in Mercury's northern hemisphere. Looking closely, we can see the faint outline of an impact crater near the center of the image and two neighboring craters on the left side of the image. The crater floors were flooded with lava, leaving only the very tops of the crater rims visible. We can also see a number of wrinkle-like features, called wrinkle ridges, which are often found in smooth plains like these.

Date acquired: October 06, 2012

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