List of craters on Mercury

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of named craters on Mercury. All Mercurian craters are named after famous writers and artists. Craters larger than 250km in diameter are referred to as "basins".[1]

[edit] Terminology

As on the Moon and Mars, sequences of craters and basins of differing relative ages provide the best means of establishing stratigraphic order on Mercury.[2][3][4] Overlap relations among many large mercurian craters and basins are clearer than those on the Moon. Therefore, as this map shows, we can build up many local stratigraphic columns involving both crater or basin materials and nearby plains materials.

Over all of Mercury, the crispness of crater rims and the morphology of their walls, central peaks, ejecta deposits, and secondary-crater fields have undergone systematic changes with time. The youngest craters or basins in a local stratigraphic sequence have the sharpest, crispest appearance. The oldest craters consist only of shallow depressions with slightly raised, rounded rims, some incomplete. On this basis, five age categories of craters and basins have been mapped; the characteristics of each are listed in the explanation. In addition, secondary crater fields are preserved around proportionally far more craters and basins on Mercury than on the Moon or Mars, and are particularly useful in determining overlap relations and degree of modification.

Since only limited photographic evidence is available from Mariner 10's three flybys of the planet, these divisions are often tentative. The five crater groups, from youngest to oldest, are:

  • c5: Fresh-appearing, sharp-rimmed, rayed craters. Highest albedo in map area; haloes and rays may extend many crater diameters from rim crests. Superposed on all other map units. Generally smaller and fewer than older craters.
  • c4: Fresh but slightly modified craters—Similar in morphology to c5 craters but without bright haloes or rays; sharp rim crests; continuous ejecta blankets; very few superposed secondary craters. Floors consist of crater or smooth plains materials.
  • c3: Modified craters—Rim crest continuous but slightly rounded and subdued. Ejecta blanket generally less extensive than those of younger craters of similar size. Superposed craters and rays common; smooth plains and intermediate plains materials cover floors of many craters. Central peaks more common than in c4 craters, probably because of larger average size of c3 craters.
  • c2: Subdued craters—Low-rimmed, relatively shallow craters, many with discontinuous rim crests. Floors covered by smooth plains and intermediate plains materials. Crater density of ejecta blankets similar to that of intermediate plains material.
  • c1 Degraded craters—Similar to c2 crater material but more deteriorated; many superposed craters.

Direction of Increasing Longitude: west

Contents Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] A

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Abu Nuwas 17.5 21 115 Abu Nuwas, Arabic poet
Africanus Horton -50.5 42 120 Africanus Horton, Sierra Leonean writer
Ahmad Baba 58.5 127 115 Ahmad Baba al Massufi, West African writer
Alencar -63.5 104 85 José de Alencar, Brazilian novelist
Al-Hamadhani 39 89.5 170 Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani, Arabic writer
Al-Jahiz 1.5 22 95 Al-Jahiz, Arabic writer
Amru Al-Qays 13 176 50 Imru Al-Qays Ibn Hujr, Arabic poet
Andal -47 38.5 90 Aandaal, Tamil writer
Apollodorus 30.58 197.01 41.0 Apollodorus of Damascus, Ancient Greek architect
Aristoxenes 82 11 65 Aristoxenus, Ancient Greek writer
Aśvaghosa 11 21 80 Asvaghosa, Sanskrit, poet
Atget 25.65 193.93 100.0 Eugène Atget, French photographer

[edit] B

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Bach -69 103 225 Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer
Balagtas -22 14 100 Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet
Balzac 11 145 65 Honoré de Balzac, French writer
Bartok -29 135 80 Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer
Barma -41.3 162.8 128.0 Postnik "Barma" Yakovlev, Russian architect
Basho -32 170.5 70 Matsuo Bashō, Japanese poet
Beethoven -20 124 625 Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer
Bello -18.5 120.5 150 Andrés Bello, South American writer
Bernini -79.5 136 145 Gianlorenzo Bernini, Italian, sculptor
Boccaccio -80.5 30 135 Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer
Boethius -0.5 74 130 Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, Roman philosopher
Botticelli 64 110 120 Sandro Botticelli, Italian artist
Brahms 58.5 177 75 Johannes Brahms, German composer
Bramante 46 62 130 Donato Bramante, Italian architect
Bronte 39 126.5 60 The Brontë family, English writers and artists
Brunelleschi -8.5 22.5 140 Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect
Byron -8 33 100 Lord Byron, English poet

[edit] C

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Callicrates -65 32 65 Kallicrates, Ancient Greek architect
Camoes -70.5 70 70 Luís de Camões, Portuguese writer
Carducci -36 90 75 Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet
Cervantes -75 122 200 Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer
Chaikovskij 8 50.5 160 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer
Chao Meng-Fu -87.3 132 150 Zhao Mengfu, Chinese artist
Chekov -33.5 61.5 130 Anton Chekhov, Russian writer
Chiang K'ui 14.5 103 40 Jiang Kui, Chinese poet
Chong Ch'ol 47 116 120 Jeong Cheol, Korean poet
Chopin -64.5 124 100 Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer
Chu Ta 3.5 106 100 Zhu Da, Chinese painter
Coleridge -54.5 66.5 110 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet
Copley -37.5 35.5 30 John Singleton Copley, American painter
Couperin 30 153 75 The Couperin family of French musicians
Cunningham 30.48 203.07 37.0 Imogen Cunningham, American photographer

[edit] D

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Dario -26 10 160 Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan writer
Degas 37.5 127 45 Edgar Degas, French artist
Delacroix -44.5 129.5 135 Eugène Delacroix, French artist
Derzhavin 44.5 35.5 145 Gavril Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet
Desprez 81 92 40 Josquin Desprez, Franco-Flemish composer
Dickens -73 153 72 Charles Dickens, English novelist
Donne 3 14 60 John Donne, English poet
Dostoevskij -44.5 177 390 Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist
Dowland -53 180 80 John Dowland, English composer
Durer 22 119.5 190 Albrecht Dürer, German artist
Dvorak -9.5 12.5 30 Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer

[edit] E

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Eitoku -21.5 157.5 105 Kano Eitoku, Japanese artist
Equiano -39 31 80 Olaudah Equiano, West African writer
Eminescu 10.79 245.87 125.0 Mihail Eminescu, Romanian poet

[edit] G

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Gauguin 66.5 97 75 Paul Gauguin, French artist
Ghiberti -48 80 100 Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian sculptor
Gluck 37.5 18.5 85 Christoph Willibald Gluck, Austrian composer
Goethe 78.5 44.5 383 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer
Goya -6.5 152.5 135 Francisco Goya, Spanish artist
Guido d'Arezzo -38 19 50 Guido of Arezzo, Italian music theorist

[edit] H

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Handel 4 34 150 George Frideric Handel, German composer
Harunobu 15.5 141 100 Suzuki Harunobu, Japanese artist
Hawthorne -51 116 100 Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist
Haydn -26 5 715 230 Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer
Heine 33 124.5 65 Heinrich Heine, German poet
Hesiod -58 35.5 90 Hesiod, Ancient Greek poet
Hiroshige -13 27 140 Ando Hiroshige, Japanese artist
Hitomaro -16 16 105 Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Japanese poet
Holbein 35.5 29 85 Hans Holbein the Younger, German artist
Holberg -66.5 61 66 Ludvig Holberg, Danish writer
Homer -1 36.5 320 Homer, Ancient Greek poet
Horace -68.5 52 48 Horace, Roman poet
Hugo 39 47.5 190 Victor Hugo, French writer
Hun Kal -0.5 20 1.5 '20' in the language of the Maya (serves as Mercury's a meridian reference point)

[edit] I

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Ibsen -24 36 160 Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright
lctinus -79 165 110 Iktinos, Ancient Greek architect
Imhotep -17.5 37.5 160 Imhotep, Ancient Egyptian architect
Ivez -32.5 112 20 Charles Ives, American composer

[edit] J

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Jokai 72.5 136 85 Mór Jókai, Hungarian writer
Judah Ha-Levi 11.5 108 85 Yehuda Halevi, Spanish-Jewish writer

[edit] K

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Kalidasa -17.5 180 110 Kālidāsa, Sanskrit writer
Keats -66.5 154 110 John Keats, English poet
Kenko -21 16.5 90 Yoshida Kenkō, Japanese writer
Kertész 27.44 214.06 33.0 André Kertész, Hungarian photographer
Khansa -56.5 52 100 Al-Khansa, Arabic poet
Kuan Han-ch'ing 29 53 155 Guan Hanqing, Chinese playwright
Kuiper -11 31.5 60 Gerard Kuiper, American astronomer
Kurosawa -52 23 180 Identified only as 'Kurosawa, 18th century'

[edit] L

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Leopardi -73 180 69 Giacomo Leopardi, Italian writer
Lermontov 15.5 48.5 160 Mikhail Lermontov, Russian writer
Liang K'ai -39.5 183.5 105 Liang Kai, Chinese artist
Li Ch'ing-Chao -77 73 60 Li Qingzhao, Chinese writer
Li Po 17.5 35 120 Li Bai, Chinese poet
Lu Hzon 0.5 23.5 95 Lu Xun, Chinese writer
Lysippus 1.5 133 150 Lysippos, Ancient Greek sculptor

[edit] M

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Ma Chih-Yuan -59 77 170 Ma Zhiyuan, Chinese writer
Machaut -1.5 83 105 Guillaume de Machaut, French poet and composer
Mahler -19 19 100 Gustav Mahler, Bohemian composer
Mansart 73.5 120 75 Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect
Mansur 47.5 163 75 Ustad Mansur, Mughal artist
March 31.5 176 55 Ausias March, Catalan poet
Mark Twain -10.5 138.5 140 Mark Twain, American novelist
Marti -75.5 164 63 José Martí, Cuban writer
Martial 69 178 45 Martial, Roman poet
Matisse -23.5 90 210 Henri Matisse, French painter
Melville 22 9.5 145 Herman Melville, American novelist
Mena 0.5 125 20 Juan de Mena, Spanish poet
Mendes Pinto -61 19 170 Fernão Mendes Pinto, Portuguese writer
Michelangelo -44.5 110 200 Michelangelo, Italian artist
Mickiewicz 23.5 102.5 115 Adam Mickiewicz, Polish writer
Milton -25.5 175 175 John Milton, English poet
Mistral 5 54 100 Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet
Mofolo -37 29 90 Thomas Mofolo, Lesotho writer
Molière 16 17.5 140 Molière, French playwright
Monet 44 9.5 250 Claude Monet, French artist
Monteverdi 64 77 130 Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer
Mozart 8 190.5 225 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer
Murasaki -12 31 125 Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese writer
Mussorgskij 33 96.5 115 Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer
Myron 71 79.5 30 Myron, Ancient Greek sculptor

[edit] N

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Nampeyo -39.5 50.5 40 Nampeyo, Hopi potter
Neruda -52.47 234.55 110.0 Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet
Nervo 43 179 50 Amado Nervo, Mexican poet
Neumann -36.5 35 100 Johann Balthasar Neumann, German architect
Nizami 71.5 165 70 Nezami, Persian poet

[edit] O

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Ovid -69.5 23 40 Ovid, Roman poet

[edit] P

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Petrarch -30 26.5 160 Petrarch, Italian poet
Phidias 9 150 155 Phidias, Ancient Greek artist and architect
Philoxenus -8 112 95 Philoxenus of Cythera, Ancient Greek poet
Pigalle -37 10.5 130 Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor
Po Chu-I -6.5 165.5 60 Bai Juyi, Chinese poet
Po Ya -45.5 21 90 Bo Ya, Chinese musician
Polygnotus 0 68.5 130 Polygnotus, Ancient Greek painter
Praxiteles 27 60 175 Praxiteles, Ancient Greek sculptor
Proust 20 47 140 Marcel Proust, French novelist
Puccini -64.5 46 110 Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer
Purcell 81 148 80 Henry Purcell, English composer
Pushkin -65 24 200 Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet

[edit] R

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Rabelais -59.5 62.5 130 François Rabelais, French writer
Raditladi 27.28 240.93 257.0 Leetile Disang Raditladi, Botswanan writer
Rajniz 5 96.5 85 Rainis, Latvian writer
Rameau -54 38 50 Jean Philippe Rameau, French composer
Raphael -19.5 76.5 350 Raphael, Italian artist
Renoir -18 52 220 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French artist
Repin -19 63 95 Ilya Yefimovich Repin, Russian artist
Riemenschneider -52.5 100.5 120 Tilman Riemenschneider, German sculptor
Rilke -44.5 13.5 70 Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet
Rodin 22 18.5 240 Auguste Rodin, French sculptor
Rubens 59.5 73.5 180 Peter Paul Rubens, French artist
Rublev -14.5 157.5 125 Andrei Rublev, Russian icon painter
Rudaki -3.5 51.5 120 Rudaki, Persian poet

[edit] S

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Sadi -77.5 56 60 Saadi, Persian poet
Saikaku 73 177 80 Ihara Saikaku, Japanese poet
Sander 42.59 205.6 50.0 August Sander, German photographer
Sarmiento -28.5 188.5 115 Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian writer
Sayat-Nova -27.5 122.5 125 Sayat-Nova, Armenian poet
Scarlatti 40.5 99.5 135 Domenico Scarlatti, Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composers
Schoenberg -15.5 136 30 Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer
Schubert -42 54.5 160 Franz Schubert, Austrian composer
Scopaz -81 173 95 Scopas, Ancient Greek sculptor and architect
Sei -63.5 88.5 130 Sei Shonagon, Japanese writer
Shakespeare 48.5 151 350 William Shakespeare, English writer
Shelley -47.5 128.5 145 Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet
Shevchenko -53 47 130 Taras Shevchenko, Ukranian poet
Sholem Aleichem 50.4 87.7 200 Sholom Aleichem, Yiddish writer
Sinan 16 30 140 Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect
Snorri -5.5 83.5 30 Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic poet
Sophocles -6.5 146.5 145 Sophocles, Ancient Greek dramatist
Sor Juana 49 24 80 Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Mexican writer
Sotatsu 45 19.5 130 Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Japanese artist
Spitteler -68 62 66 Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet
Stravinsky 50.5 73 170 Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer
Strindberg 54 136 165 August Strindberg, Swedish writer
Sullivan -16 87 135 Louis Sullivan, American architect
Sur Das -46.5 94 100 Surdas, Hindu, poet
Surikov -37 125 105 Vasily Surikov, Russian artist
Sveinsdóttir -2.58 259.96 220.0 Júlíana Sveinsdóttir, Icelandic artist

[edit] T

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Takayoshi -37 164 105 Takayoshi, Japanese painter
Tansen 4.5 72 25 Tansen, Hindustani composer
Thakur -2.5 64 115 Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer
Theophanes -4 143 50 Theophanes the Greek, icon painter
Tintoretto -47.5 24 60 Tintoretto, Italian artist
Titian -3 42.5 115 Titian, Italian artist
Tolstoj -15 165 400 Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer
Ts'ai Wen-chi 23.5 22.5 120 Cai Wenji, Chinese poet and composer
Ts'ao Chan -13 142 110 Cao Xueqin, Chinese novelist
Tsurayuki -62 22.5 80 Tsurayuki Kino, Japanese writer
Tung Yuan 73.5 55 60 Dong Yuan, Chinese artist
Turgenev 66 135 110 Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer
Tyagaraja 4 149 100 Tyāgarāja, Indian composer

[edit] U

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Unkei -31 63.5 110 Unkei, Japanese sculptor
Ustad Isa -31.5 166 105 Ustad Isa, architect

[edit] V

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Valmiki -23.5 141.5 220 Valmiki, Indian poet
Van Dijck 76.5 165 100 Anthony van Dyck, Flemish artist
Van Eyck 43.5 159 235 Jan van Eyck, Dutch artist
Van Gogh -76 135 95 Vincent van Gogh, Dutch artist
Velázquez 37 54 120 Diego Velázquez, Spanish artist
Verdi 64.5 169 150 Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer
Vincente -56.5 143 85 Gil Vicente, Portuguese writer
Vivaldi 14.5 86 210 Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer
Vyasa 43.5 80 275 Vyasa, Indian poet

[edit] W

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Wagner -67.5 114 135 Richard Wagner, German composer
Wang Meng 9.5 104 170 Wang Meng, Chinese artist
Wergeland -37 56.5 35 Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian writer
Whitman 41.4 110.4 70.0 Walt Whitman, American poet
Wren 24.5 36 215 Christopher Wren, English architect

[edit] X

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Xiao Zhao 10.64 236.21 23.0 Xiao Zhao, Chinese artist

[edit] Y

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Yeats 9.5 35 90 William Butler Yeats, Irish poet
Yun Son-Do -72.5 109 61 Yun Sondo, Korean poet

[edit] Z

Crater Latitude Longitude Diameter (km) Named after
Zeami -2.5 148 125 Zeami Motokiyo, Japanese playwright
Zola 50.5 178 60 Emile Zola, French novelist

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ H-7 text_all.word
  2. ^ Trask, Newell J.; Daniel Dzurisin (1984). Geologic Map of the Discovery (H-11) Quadrangle of Mercury. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-12-07. 
  3. ^ Pohn, H. A., and Offield, T. W., 1970, Lunar crater morphology and relative-age determination of lunar geologic units—Part 1. Classification: in Geological Survey research 1970, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 700-C, p. C153–C162.
  4. ^ Stuart-Alexander, D. E., and Wilhelms, D. E., 1975, The Nectarian System, a new lunar time-stratigraphic unit: U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research, v. 3, no. l, p. 53–58.
  • Batson R.M., Russell J.F. (1994), Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2129 [1]
  • Davies M.E., Dwornik S.E., Gault D.E., Strom R.G. (1978), Atlas of Mercury, NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office [2]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Mercury
Astrometry
Transits
Earth · Jupiter · Mars · Saturn · Uranus · Venus
Mercury as photographed by Mariner 10
Exploration
Geography
Geology
Craters
Other topics