Rilke (crater)

Rilke

MESSENGER NAC
Planet	Mercury
Coordinates	44°49′S12°34′W / 44.81°S 12.57°W / -44.81; -12.57
Quadrangle	Discovery
Diameter	82 km (51 mi)
Eponym	Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976. Rilke is named for the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. ^[1]

There is an irregular depression near the center of the crater. Such depressions in similar craters (for example Glinka, Gibran, or Picasso) are thought to be caused by explosive volcanism. ^[2]

To the north of Rilke are Matabei and Pigalle craters. To the southwest are Po Ya and Sōtatsu.

• 
  Exaggerated color view with Rilke at bottom center. Note the bright yellow color around the depression.
• 
  Oblique view of Rilke clearly showing the irregular depression near center
• 
  Distant oblique view

References

1. "Rilke". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA . Retrieved 16 June 2020.
2. David Pegg, David Rothery, M.R. Balme, Susan Conway, 2021. Explosive vent sites on Mercury: Commonplace multiple eruptions and their implications. Icarus 365:114510. doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114510