Awesome Abedin

Mountains in a crater on Mercury.
April 15, 2015
CreditNASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
PIA NumberPIA19423
Language
  • english

This mosaic of oblique images highlights the spectacular interior of Abedin crater. The crater floor is covered with once-molten rock melted by the impact event that formed Abedin. Cracks that formed as this melt cooled are visible.

Particularly intriguing is the shallow depression that lies amidst the central peaks of the crater and may be volcanic in origin. Color imaging shows that this depression is surrounded by reddish material, as seen at other sites of explosive volcanism across Mercury.