Celestial Bodies and Craters

Images of celestial surfaces featuring craters and geological formations from various planets and moons, showcasing textured gray landscapes.

Inside Eminescu

This image obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a field of small craters next to Kokopelli Crater, seen at bottom right in this image, on dwarf planet Ceres. The small craters overlay a smooth, wavy material that represents ejecta from nearby Dantu Crater. The small craters were formed by blocks ejected in the Dantu impact event, and likely from the Kokopelli impact as well. Kokopelli is named after the fertility deity who presides over agriculture in the tradition of the Pueblo people from the southwestern United States. The crater measures 21 miles (34 kilometers) in diameter. Dawn took this image during its first extended mission on August 11, 2016, from its low-altitude mapping orbit, at about 240 miles (385 kilometers) above the surface. The center coordinates of this image are 20 degrees north latitude, 123 degrees east longitude.

This MOC image shows a small volcano in the Syria Planum region of Mars. Today, the lava flows that compose this small volcano are nearly hidden by a mantle of rough-textured, perhaps somewhat cemented, dust

Hecate Tholus

As NASA's MESSENGER approached Mercury on January 14, 2008, the spacecraft's Narrow-Angle Camera on the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) instrument captured this view of the planet's rugged, cratered landscape illuminated obliquely by the Sun.

Bashed Basho

The Kuiper Melt

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft of asteroid Vesta shows Helena crater, which is the crater that resembles the shape of a butterfly's wings (center), and Laelia crater (bottom right).

This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows Winslow Crater, a fairly young crater. The darker rayed ejecta is still visible surrounding the crater.

Radiating Troughs of Pantheon Fossae

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Tarpeia crater, located in Vesta's Rheasilvia quadrangle, near asteroid Vesta's south pole. Tarpeia has a sharp, fresh rim surrounding it.

Cracked Actor

One of NASA's Mariner 10's two TV cameras took this picture of a densely cratered region of Mercury on Sept. 21, 1974, 80 minutes prior to the spacecraft's second close encounter with the planet.

Look for What Seems Out of Place

This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured on June 1, 2016, shows an older crater on Ceres that is smoothly blanketed by ejecta from the nearby, relatively young crater named Kupalo.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's shows a sinuous rille winding its way across a much larger rille in the heart of the Aristarchus Plateau.

This view of the volcanic plains of Neptune's moon Triton was produced using topographic maps derived from images acquired by NASA's Voyager spacecraft during its August 1989 flyby, 20 years ago this week.

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 25, 2015.

Smooth Around the Edges

The Home Stretch Begins

THEMIS Images as Art #50

Simply Cratering

Alba Patera Windstreaks

Anyone Else Think This Looks Like the Cookie Monster

1200th IOTD - 5/4/07

These views of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on December 10, show an area in the southern part of the southern hemisphere of the dwarf planet.

This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 24, 2015, shows cratered terrain near the day-night line, called the terminator, on dwarf planet Ceres.

The unusual shapes of craters at the Flamsteed Constellation region of interest provide information about the thickness of the lunar regolith in this region in this image taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Approach Mosaic from Mercury Flyby 3

New Territory

As with most of the wind eroded material southwest of Olympus Mons and south of Elysium Mons, two directions of winds are recorded.

Kuiper, Up Close

Cracks form in the impact melt sheet on the floor of Necho Crater in this image taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

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 25, 2015.

Botticelli in Low-Phase Color

MSIP: Gullies in Craters in Noachis Terra

This image of a dark-rayed impact crater and several dark spots was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The dark materials are located near an older, larger crater in the Sextilia quadrangle of asteroid Vesta's southern hemisphere.

Volcanism in Navoi

$This image, from NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft which launched in 1974, includes part of the floor of the Caloris basin showing the ridges and fractures.$

Ancient Heritage

NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured this view on May 28, 2016, showing a relatively young crater with smooth walls and a sharp rim. The crater has a prominent central ridge, imprinted upon the rim of the larger Datan Crater, lying toward the lower right.

These images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft are located in asteroid Vesta's Floronia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere. There are fine-scale streaks of dark and bright material originating from just underneath Licinia's scalloped rim.

Inside the wall of Recht crater rests a 130 meter long boulder.

Chain Reaction

Filling the Gap

On January 14, 2008, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft passed 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the surface of Mercury and snapped the first pictures of a side of Mercury not previously seen, with a view looking toward Mercury's south pole.

Asymmetric Crater

This pair of craters is located in the northern hemisphere of Ceres as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The wall of the older crater (lower of the two) has partially collapsed where it adjoins the rim of its younger neighbor.

NASA's Voyager 2 took this picture of Neptune's largest satellite,Triton, from less than 80,000 km (50,000 miles). The image shows an area in Triton's northern hemisphere. The Sun is just above the horizon, so features cast shadows that accentuate height

Scientists created this stereo view, called an anaglyph, with two images of the same part of Ceres's surface taken by Dawn on different orbits and from different viewing angles. The images were artificially colored and combined so that when viewed through glasses with a red filter on the left and blue on the right, they provide a 3-D view. The images used in this anaglyph were obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft from an altitude of about 38 miles (61 kilometers). The center of this image is located at about 22.3 degrees north latitude and 240.3 degrees east longitude.

Shown here is an exceptionally long sinuous ridge, possibly an inverted fluvial feature, that cuts across newly mapped geologic units of the Medusae Fossae Formation, from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Cassini looks over the heavily cratered surface of Rhea during the spacecraft's flyby of the moon on March 10, 2012.

The Sublime Kertész

The craters in this image NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft, which launched in 1974, have interior rings of mountains and ejecta deposits which are scarred by deep secondary crater chain groves.

Surveyor 6 casting 18-meter long shadow with Sun just 8° above the horizon. Surveyor 6 Landed 10 November 1967 in Sinus Medii. This image was taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Crater on a Ridge

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft are located in asteroid Vesta's Floronia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere. There are also many hummocky slumps of material around the crater's walls and base.

A Tale of Two Terrains

Small Impact Crater

Crazy Kertesz

Impact at High Noon

Up Close and Personal

Bright Rays, Small Crater

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 6, 2015.

Oblique Impact

Dramatic Dominici

This beautiful windstreak is located on the lava flows from Arsia Mons

In and Out of Caloris

A double crater, called a crater doublet, is seen in the bottom right part of this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft of asteroid Vesta. This crater doublet was likely formed by the simultaneous impact of two fragments of a split projectile.

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Yoshikawa Crater

Nanedi Vallis: Sustained Water FLow

This view from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows part of the crater named Sekhet on Ceres. Prominent shadows within the crater highlight Sekhet's central peak and mounds of material that have slumped downward from its walls.

Craters, Craters Everywhere

Northern Lights

The Dawn spacecraft captured these stereo images of Occator Crater on the dwarf planet Ceres in 2018. This view is part of a mosaic of about 50 framing camera images used to construct this anaglyph view (which requires red-blue stereo glasses for viewing) of part of the eastern floor of the crater. This area is approximately 5 miles (8.5 kilometers) wide and features bright carbonate deposits of the Vinalia Faculae formation on top of the ropey textured lobate floor impact melt deposit. Stereo views of Vinalia Faculae illustrate the complex relationship between the thin carbonates and the underlying impact deposits. The spatial resolution of the stereo images is about 11 feet (3.5 meters) per pixel. Occator crater, named after the Roman god of the agricultural practice of harrowing, is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) in diameter. The conclusion of Dawn's mission operations was Oct. 31, 2018, when the spacecraft depleted its hydrazine used for attitude control. This image was produced by

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a small, young, fresh crater on asteroid Vesta with bright and dark rays extending from it.

Off the Edge

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.

This odd-shaped hole in Noachis Terra is clearly an impact crater. It has the characteristic raised rim that distinguishes it from pits that have simply collapsed. In contrast to most impact craters though, it isn't round. What could have caused this odd shape Sometimes craters can be elongated when the impact occurs at a very grazing angle, but that's not the case here as the rough ejecta blanket around the crater is mostly symmetric. Large blocks of material in the northeast and northwest corners look like they have slid into the crater. These collapses have extended the crater in those directions giving it an oblong appearance.

Crater Collapse

Young Impact

Secrets of Schröteri

Twilight Imaging of Kepler Crater Floor

Mercury's Smile

The yellow line on this map shows where NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity has driven from the place where it landed in January 2004, inside Eagle crater, upper left end of track, to a point about 2.2 miles away from reaching the rim of Endeavour crater.

The streamlined island in this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft formed within the channel of Maja Valles. The flow of water was deflected by the crater leaving material in the lee of the crater.

On February 21, 1972, Luna 20 soft landed in the rugged highlands between Mare Fecunditatis and Mare Crisium. The Luna 20 descent stage still sits silently on the Moon, clearly visible in this image taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

AS14-69-9560 (February 1971) --- This 500mm vertical frame taken from the Apollo 14 spacecraft is of the Apollo 16 proposed landing site Descartes . The actual location of the target area is near the upper left. This photograph was taken with a 56 degree sun angle. The large bright crater is approximately one kilometer in diameter and has a distinctive ray pattern which serves as an excellent landmark.

AS08-13-2244 (21-27 Dec. 1968) --- This Apollo 8 view of the lunar surface looks southward at 162 degrees west longitude, showing rugged terrain that is characteristic of the lunar farside hemisphere. Hold picture with black sky at top right. The large crater at the left side of the picture is about 110 kilometers (70 statute miles) in diameter and is centered about 200 kilometers (125 statute miles) south of the spacecraft. The sharp, circular crater in the foreground is about 15 kilometers (9 statute miles) across. Conspicuous surface lineations that extend from the lower right corner of the photograph toward the upper left resemble a radial texture observed near Mare Orientale on Lunar Orbiter IV photographs. The lineations in this area probably are related to another major crater because the observed trend is not radial to Mare Orientale.

The Poet of the Caucasus

Chang'e 3 (left, M147290066LR) and Chang'e 4 (right, M1303619844LR) are very similar in size and instrumentation. The Chang'e 3 image looks a bit fuzzier because the landing site is at 44° north latitude where the LRO orbit is about twice as far from the Moon relative to the Chang'e 4 site at 45° south latitude (1.6 meter pixels enlarged to 0.85 meter pixels; 5.2 feet vs. 2.8 feet). Each panel is 463 meters (1520 feet) wide, large arrows indicate landers and small arrows indicate rovers.

A Mountain of Hollows (Anaglyph)

Valleys and Lava Flows near Olympus Mons

And in 3-D!

This image was taken in the mid-latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere near the giant Argyre impact basin. It is located just to the west of a prominent scarp known as Bosporos Rupes. The left side of the image shows cratered plains. Some of the craters are heavily mantled and indistinct, whereas others exhibit sharp rims and dramatic topography. The largest crater in this half of the image is about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide. Mounds and ridges, which may be remnants of an ice-rich deposit, are visible on its floor. Three sinuous valleys occupy the center of the image. Valleys such as these were first observed in data returned by the NASA Mariner 9 spacecraft, which reached Mars in 1971. The right side of the image shows part of an impact crater that is approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. The furrowed appearance of the crater's inner wall suggests that it has been extensively modified, perhaps by landslides and flowing water. Like other craters in the area, the flo

Today's image shows the eastern side of the summit caldera of Ceraunius Tholus as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

This crater occurs in Balmer Basin, an area thought to harbor a type of 'cryptomare' -- an old volcanic surface covered by later light-toned impact deposits.

Apollo 8,Moon,Target of Opportunity (T/O) 10, Various targets. Latitude 18 degrees South,Longitude 163.50 degrees West. Camera Tilt Mode: High Oblique. Direction: South. Sun Angle 12 degrees. Original Film Magazine was labeled E. Camera Data: 70mm Hasselblad; F-Stop: F-5.6; Shutter Speed: 1/250 second. Film Type: Kodak SO-3400 Black and White,ASA 40. Other Photographic Coverage: Lunar Orbiter 1 (LO I) S-3. Flight Date: December 21-27,1968.

Goethe Basin

MSIP: Elysium Mons Crater

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