Suisei Planitia

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Suisei Planitia
Planet Mercury
Coordinates 59°12′N150°48′W / 59.2°N 150.8°W / 59.2; -150.8 Coordinates: 59°12′N150°48′W / 59.2°N 150.8°W / 59.2; -150.8
Quadrangle Shakespeare
Eponym Japanese name for Mercury
Ghost crater at terminator in northern Suisei Planitia Ghost crater EW1028935167G.map.jpg
Ghost crater at terminator in northern Suisei Planitia

Suisei Planitia is a large area of smooth plains on Mercury, approximately 570 km wide. Ghost craters are unusual forms that occur in the Suisei Planitia. They are buried and rounded in profile, with only their rim crests rising above the surrounding smooth plains. It has been suggested that material forming Suisei Planitia is ejecta from the impact that formed Caloris Planitia. The name for this Planitia was approved in 1976 by the IAU. [1]

The MESSENGER Mercury orbiter crashed into the southern part of the plain on 30 April 2015, east of the crater Janáček.

Related Research Articles

Caloris Planitia Crater on Mercury

Caloris Planitia is a plain within a large impact basin on Mercury, informally named Caloris, about 1,550 km (960 mi) in diameter. It is one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System. "Calor" is Latin for "heat" and the basin is so-named because the Sun is almost directly overhead every second time Mercury passes perihelion. The crater, discovered in 1974, is surrounded by the Caloris Montes, a ring of mountains approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) tall.

Sobkou Planitia Crater on Mercury

Sobkou Planitia is a large basin on the planet Mercury. It is named after the ancient Egyptian messenger deity Sobkou. He was associated by the Egyptians with the planet Mercury.

Borealis quadrangle Quadrangle on Mercury

The Borealis quadrangle is a quadrangle on Mercury surrounding the north pole down to 65° latitude.

Shakespeare quadrangle Quadrangle on Mercury

The Shakespeare quadrangle is a region of Mercury running from 90 to 180° longitude and 20 to 70° latitude. It is also called Caduceata.

Beethoven (crater) Crater on Mercury

Beethoven is a crater at latitude 20°S, longitude 124°W on Mercury. It is 630 km in diameter and was named after Ludwig van Beethoven. It is the eleventh largest named impact crater in the Solar System and the third largest on Mercury.

Schubert (Mercurian crater) Crater on Mercury

Schubert is a crater on Mercury. It was named after Franz Schubert, a famous Austrian composer, by the IAU in 1976.

Polygnotus (crater) Crater on Mercury

Polygnotus is a crater on Mercury, named by the IAU in 1976.

Scarlatti (crater) Crater on Mercury

Scarlatti is a pit-floored crater on Mercury, which was discovered in 1974 by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. It has a prominent peak ring, which floor is covered by the smooth plain material. The crater displays an arcuate collapse feature along the northeastern peak ring. The size of the pit, which was first noticed in MESSENGER images obtained in January 2008, is 38 × 12 km. Such a feature may have resulted from collapse of a magma chamber underlying the central peak ring complex of the crater. The collapse feature is an analog of Earth's volcanic calderas. Scarlatti is thought to have the same age as the Caloris basin.

Calvino (crater) Crater on Mercury

Calvino is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the IAU in 2016, after the Italian writer Italo Calvino.

Chŏng Chʼŏl (crater) Crater on Mercury

Chŏng Chʼŏl is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 143 kilometers. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1979. Chŏng Chʼŏl is named for the Korean poet Jeong Cheol, who lived from 1536 to 1593.

Couperin (crater) Crater on Mercury

Couperin is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 80 kilometers. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1979. Couperin is named for the French composer François Couperin, who lived from 1688 to 1733.

Kōshō (crater) Crater on Mercury

Kōshō is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1985. Kōshō is named for the Japanese sculptor Kōshō, who lived in the 13th century CE.

Darwin (Martian crater) Crater on Mars

Darwin is an impact crater on Mars, located at 57°S 19°E to the southeast of Argyre Planitia in Noachis Terra. It is approximately 176 km in diameter. The crater's name was formally approved by the IAU in 1973.

Roddenberry (crater) Crater on Mars

Roddenberry is a crater on Mars, located at 49°S 4°W to the east of Argyre Planitia in Noachis Terra. It measures approximately 139 kilometers in diameter. The crater is named after Gene Roddenberry, creator of the television series Star Trek, and was formally approved by the IAU in 1994.

Arrhenius (Martian crater) Crater on Mars

Arrhenius is an impact crater in the Eridania quadrangle on Mars at 40.3° S and 237.4° W. and is 129.0 km (80.2 mi) in diameter. Its name, for Svante Arrhenius, was approved in 1973 by the IAU. Evidence of previous glacial activity is evident in images. There also appear to be branched channels just outside the crater.

Strindberg (crater) Crater on Mercury

Strindberg is a 189 km diameter impact basin in the Shakespeare quadrangle of Mercury. It is located at 53.41°N, 136.67°W. It was named after the Swedish playwright, novelist and short story writer August Strindberg.

Rivera (crater) Crater on Mercury

Rivera is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 40 kilometers. Its name was suggested by Mexican residents Ricardo Martinez and Arturo Gutierrez, and American residents Rebecca Hare and José Martinez, in a naming contest which was eventually adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 2015. Rivera is named for the Mexican poet Diego Rivera. The craters Carolan, Enheduanna, Karsh, and Kulthum were also named as part of the contest.

Faulkner is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 168 kilometres. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on April 24, 2012. Faulkner is named for the American author William Faulkner.

Sihtu Planitia Geologic basin on Mercury

Sihtu Planitia is a large plain on Mercury, approximately 565 km across. It was named in 2017 by the IAU. The crater Calvino lies at the center of the Planitia, and Rūdaki is on the east side.

References

  1. Suisei Planitia, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)