NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

As Soft As Velvet

Today's image highlights the velvety texture that surrounds several volcanic vents near the rim of the Caloris basin. This soft texture, like freshly fallen snow, is formed by the emplacement of tiny beads of lava that were explosively erupted and then quenched and solidified before they reached the surface. This diffuse deposit blankets impact craters and older vents, and becomes thinner farther from the source of the eruption.

Date acquired: November 17, 2012

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