On April 30, 2013 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved new names for five broad valleys on Mercury. These valleys have been interpreted by MESSENGER team scientists as having formed due to mechanical and thermal erosion of Mercury's surface by hot, low-viscosity, quickly-flowing lavas.
On April 30, 2013 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved new names for five broad valleys on Mercury. These valleys have been interpreted by MESSENGER team scientists as having formed due to mechanical and thermal erosion of Mercury’s surface by hot, low-viscosity, quickly-flowing lavas.
Date acquired: March 26, 2013Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington