Mercury’s Volcanic Plains

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This enhanced-color MESSENGER image shows Mercury’s epic volcanic plains in the planet’s northern hemisphere. In the bottom right of the image is the Mendelssohn impact basin, which is 181 miles (291 kilometers) in diameter. The large wrinkled ridges indicate cooled lava flows, while the circular rims in the bottom left region are impact craters that were eventually submerged by lava. Near the top of the image, the bright orange area is a pyroclastic vent with fast-moving gas emulsions.171111-brockway-the-planets-26_kgadgj.jpg

Mercury’s Volcanic Plains | Ecency