Lermontov crater was first observed by Mariner 10 and seen more recently by MESSENGER during its second flyby of Mercury. The crater floor is somewhat brighter than the exterior surface and is smooth with several irregularly shaped depressions. Such features, similar to those found on the floor of Praxiteles (PIA12040), may be evidence of past explosive volcanic activity on the crater floor. Lermontov appears reddish in enhanced-color views (PIA11411), suggesting that it has a different composition from the surrounding surface. Lermontov is named for Mikhail Yurevich Lermontov, a nineteenth-century Russian poet and painter who died from a gunshot suffered in a duel.

Date Acquired: October 6, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131771953
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 250 meters/pixel (0.16 miles/pixel)
Scale: Lermontov’s diameter is 152 kilometers (94 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles)

These images are from MESSENGER, a NASA Discovery mission to conduct the first orbital study of the innermost planet, Mercury. For information regarding the use of images, see the MESSENGER image use policy.