File:MESSENGER - CN0162744010M RA 3 web.png

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English: "This NAC image is of an area just to the north of a previously released image acquired during MESSENGER's third flyby of Mercury. Both that previously released image and this one show large areas of Mercury's surface that appear to have been flooded by lava. In this view, craters are visible that have been nearly filled with lava, leaving only traces of their circular rims. MESSENGER images have revealed that the smooth plains in this region of Mercury's surface are quite extensive, and MESSENGER Science Team members are currently updating maps of the smooth plains created after the mission's second Mercury flyby to include these new views obtained from Mercury flyby 3. After the Mariner 10 mission, there was some controversy concerning the extent to which volcanism had modified Mercury's surface. Now MESSENGER results, including color composite images, evidence for pyroclastic eruptions, and images of vast lava plains (such as shown here) have demonstrated that Mercury was indeed volcanically active in the past."
Almost all features in this photograph remain unnamed as of 21 October 2021, but the region is named Borealis Planitia. The photo is centered at about 50° N, 300° W.
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Source http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=372
Author NASA / JHU/APL / CIW

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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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current04:00, 25 January 2011Thumbnail for version as of 04:00, 25 January 20111,018 × 1,024 (775 KB)Xession (talk | contribs){{Information |Description ={{en|1="This NAC image is of an area just to the north of a previously released image acquired during MESSENGER's third flyby of Mercury. Both that previously released image and this one show large areas of Mercury's surface

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