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PHOTOS: Amazing photos from ill-fated Mercury probe

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Thursday, April 30, 2015
Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
This color image of an young, elliptical crater on Mercury--with bright rays making a butterfly pattern--indicate a very oblique object struck the planet. Taken on May 1, 2013.
This photo of Mercury's sunlit horizon. The photo was acquired looking from the shadows toward the sunlit side of the planet on Oct. 2, 2013.
A map of Mercury's north pole, produced by a composite of images MESSENGER captured in the flyover during this flight path over Mercury's north polar region.
Mercury's Lennon crater, named for Beatle John Lennon, as seen from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.
Before its trek to Mercury, MESSENGER snapped this mutli-wavelength photo of Earth to test its instruments, showing extraordinary plant growth in red.
Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
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Composite images taken by MESSENGER in hundreds of different wavelengths of light --from ultaviolet to infrared--show Mercury's mineral composition, age and volcanic vents.
NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab/Carnegie Institution
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