DLR Institute of Planetary Research - 29.11.2011 - Topography and albedo image of grooved terrain on Vesta

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29.11.2011 - Topography and albedo image of grooved terrain on Vesta

These Dawn FC (framing camera) images show part of the grooved terrain in Vesta’s Pinaria quadrangle, which is in the southern hemisphere. Large-scale grooves and depressions can be seen running diagonally across the image. The left image is an albedo image, which is taken directly through the clear filter of the FC. Such an image shows the albedo (eg. brightness/ darkness) of the surface. The right image uses the same albedo image as its base but then a color-coded height representation of the topography is overlain onto it. The topography is calculated from a set of images that were observed from different viewing directions, allowing stereo reconstruction. The various colors correspond to the height of the area. The red area at the top of the image is the highest area and the blue area at the bottom of the image is the lowest area. The topography image does not show major height differences between the grooves and depressions; a higher resolution topography image may be necessary for this. However, the topography image does show that there is a decrease in height from the top to the bottom of the image, which is not clear in the albedo image. Visible in the bottom half of both images are narrow linear scars, which are probably formed by boulders ejected by impacts scouring across Vesta’s surface.

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