Lunar and Ceres Surface Features

High-resolution images of various lunar and Ceres craters, showcasing impact features, textures, and surface details.

Another Small Volcano
Another Small Volcano
318 assets in this story
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This high resolution image taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the floor of the Apollo Basin, a large (538 km diameter) double-ringed impact crater in the southern hemisphere of the far side.
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft views a portion of the northern rim of Urvara Crater (101 miles, 163 kilometers wide) in this scene from Ceres taken on June 3, 2016, at a distance of about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows craters of different sizes and shapes in Vesta's southern hemisphere. The freshest craters can be classified as fresh scarp rimmed craters and the less fresh classified as partly degraded subdued rim craters.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a portion of the southern rim of Jarovit Crater in the northern hemisphere of Ceres. Compacted material forms spurs along the upper part of the crater wall, near the center of the image.
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Patches of bright material can be seen on the walls of a relatively fresh crater on Ceres in this view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
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Another Small Volcano
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured this portion of the southern hemisphere of Ceres on Dec. 20, 2015. The image is centered at approximately 46 degrees south latitude, 101 degrees east longitude.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers). The image, with a resolution of 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel, was taken on June 24, 2015.
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An Eraser Mark on Eros
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the largest crater on Ceres, called Kerwan. The crater has an appearance scientists refer to as relaxed, meaning its sharp features have softened since Kerwan formed. Its overall shape looks something like a pancake, especially when viewed near Ceres' limb. The origin of its polygonal shape is not yet well understood; it might be due to large faults in the subsurface generated by other large impacts, as has been suggested for other craters. The smaller crater named Insitor sits in the center of Kerwan. The dark material seen at top right is ejecta from Dantu crater. At 174 miles (280 kilometers) wide, Kerwan is so large that it would have taken about 50 images at Dawn's low-altitude mapping orbit (called LAMO, at 240 miles or 385 kilometers altitude) to cover the crater from one side to the other. Kerwan was also too wide to fit within the camera's field of view at Dawn's high-altitude mapping orbit (called HAMO, at 915 miles, 1,470 kilomete
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Eratosthenes Central Peak
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NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter catches the edge of Mare Moscoviense.
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Image of the Vesta Ateroid. This Dawn framing camera (FC) image of Vesta shows linear grooves and ridges in Vesta's regolith. These linear features generally run diagonally across the image from the top left to the bottom right. They are less than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) in width and some have lengths that extend across the entire image. This image is located in Vesta's Tuccia quadrangle, in Vesta's southern hemisphere. NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image on April 8, 2012.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 24, 2015, shows Dantu crater on dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers); Dantu crater as small patches of bright material sprinkled around it.
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Contact between Archimedes crater wall and floor.
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This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows part of the southwestern rim of Yalode Crater on Ceres. Yalode is one of the largest impact basins on Ceres. A great deal of material has slumped down the walls of the crater. a phenomenon called mass wasting.
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This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a portion of Mondamin Crater, an impact feature 78 miles (126 kilometers) in diameter, in the southern hemisphere of Ceres.
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Maximum Thrust
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this moody scene on Ceres, located within Zadeni Crater, named for the ancient Georgian god of bountiful harvest. Dawn saw Zadeni at approximately 76 miles (120 kilometers) in diameter on June 15, 2016.
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A New View of Spitteler and Holberg
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This image of asteroid Vesta from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a relatively smooth area of Vesta's surface. This region is smooth because it is mostly covered by fine-grained debris, known as regolith.
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Yalode crater is so large -- at 162 miles, 260 kilometers in diameter -- that a variety of vantage points is necessary to understand its geological context. This view of the northern portion of Yalode is one of many images NASA's Dawn spacecraft has taken of this crater. The large impact that formed the crater likely involved a lot of heat, which explains the relatively smooth crater floor punctuated by smaller craters. A couple of larger craters in Yalode have polygonal shapes. This type of crater shape is frequently found on Ceres and may be indicative of extensive underground fractures. The larger crater to the right of center in this image is called Lono (12 miles, 20 kilometers in diameter) and the one below it is called Besua (11 miles, 17 kilometers). Some of the small craters are accompanied by ejecta blankets that are more reflective than their surroundings. The strange Nar Sulcus fractures can be seen in the bottom left corner of the picture. Linear features seen throughout t
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Discovering New Rupes on Mercury
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image with its framing camera on Aug. 20, 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.
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Boundary Lands
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Raditladi basin, imaged during MESSENGER's first Mercury flyby and named in April 2008, is intriguing for several reasons.
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Part of Ezinu Crater on Ceres is seen at top left in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft taken on Oct. 20, 2016. The crater features a network of canyon-like features.
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Boundary of buried crater rim and mare basalt at Flamsteed P crater.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a portion of the southern hemisphere of dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The image was taken on Sept. 21, 2015, and has a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Arruntia crater, located in asteroid Vesta's Bellicia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere.
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The Mighty Caloris
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This image of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, features a large, steep-sided mountain and several intriguing bright spots. The mountain's height is estimated to be about 4 miles (6 kilometers). It is the highest point seen on Ceres so far.
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Setting Eyes on Sōtatsu
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This NAC mosaic of the newly discovered Rembrandt impact basin was presented last week during a NASA media teleconference. The number per area and size distribution of impact craters superposed on Rembrandt's rim indicates that it is one of the younges
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Hokusai's Molten Past
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This image of a small boulder on Ceres was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 10, 2018 from an altitude of about 24 miles (38 kilometers).
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Along the embayed Paddington crater rim is a dome that may be an ancient volcano with a summit pit crater.
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NASA's Dawn took this image on June 17, 2016, of Tibong Crater (22 miles, 36 kilometers wide), at left, on Ceres.
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This view of Ceres from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a fresh impact crater with a flat floor. The crater is surrounded by smooth, flow-like ejecta that covers adjacent older impact craters. The crater is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) in diameter.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a relatively smooth part of asteroid Vesta's surface. This smooth texture is probably due to the surface being covered in a layer of tiny dust particles.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft of asteroid Vesta shows chains of craters on an undulating surface probably formed of fine-grained debris, called regolith, which was ejected from large impact craters as they formed nearby.
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This view, taken on Oct. 22, 2016, from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the craters Kondos and Jarimba on Ceres. Jarimba is the largest crater, located at left. Above Jarimba, on the left-hand edge of the image, is Kondos.
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft captures part of the northern rim of Urvara Crater (101 miles, 163 kilometers wide). obtained on June 2, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit, at a distance of about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface.
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Tea Time with MESSENGER
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this image that shows a mountain ridge, near lower left, that lies in the center of Urvara crater on Ceres. Urvara is an Indian and Iranian deity of plants and fields. The crater's diameter is 101 miles (163 kilometers).
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft is centered on a small, young, fresh crater with bright and dark ejecta rays extending from it. The crater is located in Vesta's Tuccia quadrangle on asteroid Vesta.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, taken on June 6, 2016, features bright material (at upper left) along the rim of the giant crater named Kerwan (174 miles, 280 kilometers wide) on Ceres.
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This image of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows three prominent craters located to the northeast of a terrace (the terrace feature being located at left in this image).
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This image was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on July 1, 2018 from an altitude of about 179 miles (288 kilometers). The center of this picture is located at about 67.3 degrees south latitude and 249.1 degrees east longitude.
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This image of Ceres from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows hummocky terrain -- a surface covered in low, rounded hills -- with numerous impact craters of varying sizes.
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This image captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft features the shadowy rim of an unnamed crater on Ceres. The crater on the left appears relatively old, as its flanks are rugged and the crater density inside it is more or less uniform.
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Shadows cast a dark mood on this scene from Ceres, near the dwarf planet's north pole in this image acquired by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.
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Young and Wrinkled
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Buon Giorno, Raphael!
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NASA's Dawn Spacecraft took this image of Gaue crater, the large crater on the bottom, on Ceres. Gaue is a Germanic goddess to whom offerings are made in harvesting rye. The resolution of the image is 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel.
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Though NASA's MESSENGER's days are numbered, the spacecraft will continue to acquire new data sets and transmit them back to Earth during its final days. Shown here is a high-resolution view snapped near Heemskerck Rupes.
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This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows terrain on Ceres centered at approximately 37 degrees south latitude, 51 degrees east longitude.
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Between the Valleys of the Ancients
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A field of bright rays, created by ejecta from a crater, radiating to the north (top) from off camera (lower right) is seen in this view of Mercury taken Sept. 21, 1974 by NASA's Mariner 10.
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At an Angle. This image NASA's MESSENGER features an elongated impact crater north of Rembrandt impact basin. This crater was most likely formed by a oblique impact which created the crater's distinct elongated shape and central peak.
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Lifting the Veil of Anonymity
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The colorful rocks exposed in the central peak visible in this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probably reflect variations in mineral content that were caused by water activity early in Mars' history.
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Two overlapping, unnamed craters with long shadows are seen high in the northern hemisphere of Ceres, captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on April 21, 2016.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a portion of the northern hemisphere of dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). Featured here is Dantu crater, named for the Ghanan god associated with the planting of corn.
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This image, acquired yesterday, is one of NASA's MESSENGER's last. Today, April 30, 2015, the spacecraft will complete its highly successful orbital mission and impact the surface of Mercury.
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This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured on Dec. 21, 2015 shows a portion of the northern hemisphere of Ceres. Bright material can be seen in the wall of the large crater at upper left.
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Torrent in Tolstoj
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Fabia crater, located in asteroid Vesta's Numisia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the surface of dwarf planet Ceres from an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The image, with a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel, was taken on August 26, 2015.
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This image of Urvara Crater was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 20, 2018 from an altitude of about 920 miles (1480 kilometers). The center of Urvara Crater is located at about 46 degrees south in latitude and 249 degrees east in longitude.
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The Witch and the Skeleton Spectre
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This southern hemisphere scene from dwarf planet Ceres encompasses parts of the craters Mondamin and Darzamat. Mondamin is large crater located in the top half of image, Darzamat is at bottom-right. NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this image on Oct. 19, 2016.
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This image of a small crater north of Ceres' Datan Crater was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 9, 2018 from an altitude of about 48 miles (77 kilometers).
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows Ikapati Crater with its complex of central peaks on Ceres. Several groupings of roughly parallel fractures are present in smooth areas of the crater floor.
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NASA's MESSENGER is again sending images back to Earth after the spacecraft emerged from superior solar conjunction, when communication is largely blocked by the Sun. These will be some of our last views of Mercury from MESSENGER.
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The Smoothness of Schubert
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This image of Domna AV-L-17, from the atlas of the giant asteroid Vesta, was created from images taken as NASA's Dawn mission flew around the object, also known as a protoplanet.
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his image of Claudia AV-L-23, from the atlas of the giant asteroid Vesta, was created from images taken as NASA's Dawn mission flew around the object, also known as a protoplanet.
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This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft includes Haulani, a relatively fresh crater 19 miles (31 kilometers) in diameter. The interior of Haulani shows landslides from its crater rim, along with smooth material and a central ridge on its crater floor.
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A fresh new crater in the center of an older crater basin is shown in this picture of the surface of Mercury taken March 29, 1974 by NASA's Mariner 10.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the edge of Ezinu Crater on Ceres. Dawn took this image on June 10, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit, at a distance of about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface.
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Lichtenberg crater is of Eratosthenian age, located in western Oceanus Procellarum.
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A Diamond in the Rough
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This image of Ceres is part of a sequence taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on May 22, 2015, from a distance of 3,200 miles (5,100 kilometers) with a resolution of 1,600 feet (480 meters) per pixel.
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This image of a battered crater rim on Ceres was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 10, 2018 from an altitude of about 25 miles (40 kilometers).
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft of Ceres shows a small, double-impact crater (at bottom) near a larger crater. The larger structure has a crater floor with roughly the same crater density.
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Looking in Detail at a Spectacular Double-Ring Basin
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Slope Failure near Aratus Crater
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NASA's Dawn spacecraft obtained this image of the giant asteroid Vesta with its framing camera on Aug. 14 2011. This image was taken through the camera's clear filter. The image has a resolution of about 260 meters per pixel.
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This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the surface of dwarf planet Ceres at mid-latitudes from an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The image was taken on Sept. 21, 2015, and has a resolution of 450 feet (140 meters) per pixel.
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The tall, cone-shaped mountain Ahuna Mons is seen in this image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Ahuna Mons taken on Oct. 14, 2015.
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A Brief History of Time
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Battered Dione
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I Just Can't Get Enough!
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Terraces in Eratosthenes Crater
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This image of Fabia AV-L-13, from the atlas of the giant asteroid Vesta, was created from images taken as NASA's Dawn mission flew around the object, also known as a protoplanet.
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Inamahari Crater on Ceres, the large well-defined crater at the center of this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, is one of the sites where scientists have discovered evidence for organic material.
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This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft is dominated by a wide, young, fresh crater on asteroid Vesta. Surrounding this crater is its ejecta blanket, a covering of small particles that were thrown out during the impact that formed the crater.
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The High-Incidence Campaign
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Double Whammy