NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Smooth Plains?

Mercury's north polar region contains an expansive area of volcanic smooth plains. The stark image shown here is actually located in that "smooth" plains region! At this high northern latitude, the Sun is always low on the horizon, resulting in high incidence angles and long shadows that accentuate the topography and texture of the surface.

Date acquired: January 13, 2012

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