Mercury: Radar images of the equatorial and midlatitude zones John K. Harmon a,∗,MartinA.Sladeb, Bryan J. Butler c, James W. Head III d, Melissa S. Rice a, Donald B. Campbell e a National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, PR 00612, USA Fax: 787-878-1861; Tel: 787-878-2612 x284; Email:
[email protected] b Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA Fax: 818-354-6825; Tel: 818-354-2765; Email:
[email protected] c National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM 87801, USA Fax: 505-835-7027; Tel: 505-835-7261; Email:
[email protected] d Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA Fax: 401-863-3978; Tel: 401-863-2526; Email: James Head
[email protected] e Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA Fax: 607-255-8803; Tel: 607-255-9580; Email:
[email protected] Submitted to Icarus: June 15, 2006 Revised: September 20, 2006 - 50 manuscript pages 2tables 39 figures 2 Proposed running head: Mercury radar images Send correspondence and proofs to: John K. Harmon Arecibo Observatory HC3 Box 53995 Arecibo, PR 00612 Email:
[email protected], Tel.: 787-878-2612 x284, Fax: 787-878-1861 3 Abstract. Radar imaging results for Mercury’s non-polar regions are presented. The dual- polarization, delay-Doppler images were obtained from several years of observations with the upgraded Arecibo S-band (λ12.6-cm) radar telescope. The images are dominated by radar- bright features associated with fresh impact craters. As was found from earlier Goldstone-VLA and pre-upgrade Arecibo imaging, three of the most prominent crater features are located in the Mariner-unimaged hemisphere.