14 DAY TRIAL // This image of a crater was acquired on August 29, 2012 on Mercury, during the Messenger mission. It was posted on NASA Flickr account, with a funny commentary in which its similarity to the cookie monster was pointed out.
The image was a result of high-resolution targeted observation, in which small surface areas of the planet are photographed at resolutions higher than 200-meter/pixel, and the pictures are used to create a morphology base map.
“Ok, so maybe it's just me. But the superposition of younger craters on older craters (in this case two smaller craters upon the rim of an older crater) can result in landforms that appear to resemble more familiar shapes to human eyes.
More generally, the Law of Superposition allows scientists to determine which surface features pre- and postdate others, leading to a better understanding of the geological history of different regions of Mercury's surface,” the image description reads.