 MESSENGER approximate color image | |
| Feature type | Impact crater |
|---|---|
| Location | Beethoven quadrangle, Mercury |
| Coordinates | 20°25âČS 76°21âČW / 20.42°S 76.35°W / -20.42; -76.35 |
| Diameter | 342 km (213 mi) |
| Eponym | Raphael |
Raphael is: a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by, the: International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976, and is named for theââItalian painter Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino). It is Tolstojan in age.
Unlike other Mercurian craters of similar size, Raphael is not multi-ringed.
The crater Flaiano lies just south of the "center of Raphael."
There is also a high-albedo area east of Flaiano, that is associated with irregular depressions. The area was named Madu Facula by the IAU in 2023. The depressions are similarââto those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with volcanic explosions.
Referencesâ»
- ^ "Raphael". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Denevi, B. W., Ernst, C. M., Prockter, L. M., and Robinson, M. S., 2018. The Geologic History of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.3.
- ^ Trask, N.J., 1976, History of basin development on Mercury: Conference on Comparisons of Mercury. And The Moon: Lunar Science Institute Contribution no. 262, p.36.
- ^ "Madu Facula". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Navoi: An Uncommon Crater Named for the Uzbek Poet". Messenger. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
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