Raphael (crater)

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Raphael
Raphael crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg
MESSENGER approximate color image
Feature typeImpact crater
Location Beethoven quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates 20°25′S76°21′W / 20.42°S 76.35°W / -20.42; -76.35
Diameter342 km (213 mi)
Eponym Raphael
Another MESSENGER view Raphael crater EW0223960773I.jpg
Another MESSENGER view

Raphael is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976, and is named for the Italian painter Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino). [1] It is Tolstojan in age. [2] The crater was first imaged by Mariner 10 in 1974. [3]

Unlike other Mercurian craters of similar size, Raphael is not multi-ringed. [4]

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. [5] The depressions are similar to those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with volcanic explosions. [6]

High-albedo area in Raphael crater, named Madu Facula Madu Facula EN0228978379M.jpg
High-albedo area in Raphael crater, named Madu Facula

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References

  1. ↑ "Raphael". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS . Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Davies, M. E.; Dwornik, S. E.; Gault, D. E.; Strom, R. G. (1978). Atlas of Mercury. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 1–128. ISBN   978-1-114-27448-8. Special Publication SP-423.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Madu Facula". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS . Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "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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