Radar And Mariner 10, Best possible mapping, pre-Messenger Options

[nprev]

We're going to see a brand new planet when those first Messenger images come in.

Yeah, I think that's a truism based on experience. Seems like our initial flybys almost invariably miss the most interesting features of a given target for whatever reason...

[4th rock from th...]

Hi,

Ok, here's the familiar Mercury map with a color/albedo overlay from two Mariner 10 images made from different filters. Colors are approximate and perhaps a little to saturated but it's a start.

[t_oner]

Here it is. Some notes about the map: It was constructed by me from the mosaics created for the Atlas of Mercury by NASA, (thanks to NSSDC for supplying the digital data). Becuse of discrepancies in the original mosaics this map may have errors as large as a few degrees. The original is 12K but only 4K fits to the 1MB limit here. With other regions added we may have to compress it more.

It is in simple cylindrical projection with 0 degrees longitude at the center. Some of the missing parts are the missing parts of the mosaics which are possible to fill with Mariner 10 data. First I think we should do this. And please add the radar data last as they have North-South ambiguity.

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[t_oner]

And here is version 2 with some fills.

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[CAP-Team]

Here's a map of Mercury that I've been using for a couple of months now, I've added some radar information that's available on the web.

[gcecil]

Here's a map of Mercury that I've been using for a couple of months now, I've added some radar information that's available on the web.

This map includes recent (reported within last 2 wks) amateur imaging (290-360 deg) by John Boudreau and our SOAR telescope imaging from earlier in the yr (185-290 deg), only to +-70 deg lat shown however. Alignment along longitudes of bright features (all rayed radar craters) is an artifact of the phase correction. Agreement with rayed radar craters and their diameters is given in our paper.

http://stew.physics.unc.edu/MercuryComposite.jpg

( large image removed, replaced with link. Not everyone has 100 Mbit internet and 2500 pixel wide monitors - DOUG)

[ElkGroveDan]

Welcome Gerald. Thanks for the links to your paper.

[t_oner]

Hi gcecil, thanks for the map but it seems to have some serious scale problems, Mariner 10 data covers more longitudes than it should. I think there was a mistake in compositing.

[edstrick]

Mariner 10 took a series of approach <crescent> data for something like 6 days and outgoing data for maybe 3. Granted, the furthest out data is pretty horribly low rez, but the data shows stuff beyond the terminator on both approach and flyout. That's how the large crater "Mozart", south of Caloris, was discovered. It's not in the high rez mosaics.

Some of the data was lost or truncated by camera wander due to Mariner's large attitude control slop, and I vaguely recall some color band data may have been smeared by the wander, or some data was over-exposed, but I've always wanted to see the several frame zoom "movie" from approach and flyout, both at native resolution, and rescaled to a uniform diameter.

[t_oner]

I am not sure if edstrick's post is an answer to my post but let me make it clear: Mariner 10 high res data covers 190 to 10 degrees longitude, not 190 to -10 as in gcecil's map. That map has a scale problem.

[gcecil]

I am not sure if edstrick's post is an answer to my post but let me make it clear: Mariner 10 high res data covers 190 to 10 degrees longitude, not 190 to -10 as in gcecil's map. That map has a scale problem.

Yup, scale was messed up when I cutoff at +/-70 lat. Fixed now, so reposting with proper format. Thank you!

This map (full res image here) includes recent (reported within last 2 wks) amateur imaging (290-360 deg) by John Boudreau and our SOAR telescope imaging from earlier in the yr (185-290 deg), only to +-70 deg lat shown. Hints of topography near the terminator in our data (e.g. other half of Mozart), elsewhere mostly bright rayed radar craters. Alignment along longitudes of bright features is an artifact of the phase correction. Agreement with rayed radar craters (and their diameters) is given in our paper.

[t_oner]

Here is Version 3 with optical data added from Baumgardner et al. Cosmetically corrected for Celestia.

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[edstrick]

I didn't spot the scale problem, I was just pointing that to some extend, Mariner 10 converage extends beyond the high-rez mosaic's terminations at the terminators.

Did Mariner really say "I'll be back!"?

[tedstryk]

Here is an example of a Mariner set that shows a bit beyond what the high resolution images show. This is the same set of images, processed to look relatively natural on the left and with heavy high-pass filtering on the right.

[peter59]

I recognize that many of you are waiting for new images of Mercury, but you can't also see old images.


Tape MVE_033 Image 091 (29 November 1973)