page_title: Mena (Mercurian crater)
hierarchical_section_title: Mena (Mercurian crater)
caption_attribution_description: English: Date acquired: November 12, 2011 Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 229581348, 229581352, 229581356 Image ID: 1003074-1003076 Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) WAC filters: 9, 7, 6 (1000, 750, 430 nanometers) as red, green, blue Center Latitude: -0.97° Center Longitude: 234.0° E Resolution: 257 meters/pixel Scale: Mena has a diameter of 15 km (9 miles) Incidence Angle: 29.7° Emission Angle: 16.3° Phase Angle: 46.0° Of Interest: The young rays of Mena crater contrast brightly against the surrounding surface, though the rays will gradually fade with time. The asymmetric pattern of the rays, with a gap in the south-western direction, may be due to the angle at which the impact that formed the crater occurred, or to the fact that Mena formed on the rim of a larger pre-existing impact crater, as seen in this image. This image was acquired as a high-resolution targeted observation. Targeted observations are images of a small area on Mercury's surface at resolutions much higher than the 250-meter/pixel (820 feet/pixel) morphology base map or the 1-kilometer/pixel (0.6 miles/pixel) color base map. It is not possible to cover all of Mercury's surface at this high resolution during MESSENGER's one-year mission, but several areas of high scientific interest are generally imaged in this mode each week.
context_page_description: Mena is a crater in the Beethoven quadrangle on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1976. Mena is named for the Spanish poet Juan de Mena, who lived from 1411 to 1456.
context_section_description: Mena is a crater in the Beethoven quadrangle on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1976. Mena is named for the Spanish poet Juan de Mena, who lived from 1411 to 1456.
caption: Approximate color image showing Mena's ray system
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