List of craters on Mercury
This is a list of named craters on Mercury, the innermost planet of the Solar System (for other features, see list of geological features on Mercury).[2] Most Mercurian craters are named after famous writers, artists and composers. According to the rules by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, all new craters must be named after an artist that was famous for more than fifty years, and dead for more than three years, before the date they are named.[6] Craters larger than 250 km in diameter are referred to as "basins" (also see § Terminology).[7][8]
- Mercurian: 414 craters (7.9%)
- Lunar: 1,624 craters (31.1%)
- Martian: 1,092 craters (20.9%)
- Venusian: 900 craters (17.2%)
- Others: 1,198 craters (22.9%)
As of 2021, there are 414 named Mercurian craters,[2] a small fraction of the total number of named Solar System craters, most of which are lunar, Martian and Venerian craters.[3][4][5][lower-alpha 1]
Other, non-planetary bodies with numerous named craters include Callisto (141), Ganymede (131), Rhea (128), Vesta (90), Ceres (90), Dione (73), Iapetus (58), Enceladus (53), Tethys (50) and Europa (41). For a full list, see List of craters in the Solar System.

A
B
C
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calder | 3.51°N 12.75°E | 24 | 2013 | Alexander Calder, American sculptor | WGPSN |
Callicrates | 66.51°S 30.37°W | 68 | 1976 | Kallicrates, Ancient Greek architect | WGPSN |
Calvino | 3.99°S 56.03°W | 67 | 2009 | Italo Calvino, Italian writer | WGPSN |
Camões | 71.42°S 68.39°W | 70 | 1976 | Luís de Camões, Portuguese writer | WGPSN |
Canova | 25.6°N 3.71°W | 46 | 2018 | Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor | WGPSN |
Capote | 21.1°S 72.41°E | 88 | 2013 | Truman Capote, American Author | WGPSN |
Caravaggio | 3.18°N 87.24°E | 185 | 2013 | Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio, Italian painter | WGPSN |
Carducci | 36.54°S 90.39°W | 108.19 | 1976 | Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet | WGPSN |
Carleton | 52.2°S 306.6°W | 177 | 2018 | William Carleton, Irish writer | WGPSN |
Carolan | 83.88°N 31.77°E | 24.34 | 2015 | Turlough Carolan, Irish composer and performer | WGPSN |
Caruso | 2.33°S 76.36°W | 31 | 2013 | Enrico Caruso, Italian singer | WGPSN |
Castiglione | 40.87°S 87.96°E | 80 | 2015 | Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian painter | WGPSN |
Catullus | 21.9°N 67.55°W | 100.2 | 2012 | Gaius Valerius Catullus, Roman poet | WGPSN |
Cervantes | 76.09°S 124.26°W | 213.16 | 1976 | Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer | WGPSN |
Cézanne | 8.47°S 123.69°W | 67 | 1985 | Paul Cézanne, French painter | WGPSN |
Chaikovskij | 7.86°N 50.93°W | 171 | 1976 | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer | WGPSN |
Chao Meng-Fu | 88.42°S 156.36°W | 140.73 | 1976 | Zhao Mengfu, Chinese artist | WGPSN |
Chekhov | 36.2°S 61.23°W | 194 | 1976 | Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and writer | WGPSN |
Chesterton | 88.51°N 126.9°W | 37.23 | 2012 | Gilbert Keith Chesterton, English author | WGPSN |
Chiang Kʻui | 14.71°N 102.8°W | 41 | 1976 | Jiang Kui, Chinese poet | WGPSN |
Chŏng Chʼŏl | 46.87°N 117.31°W | 143 | 1979 | Jeong Cheol, Korean poet | WGPSN |
Chopin | 65.45°S 123.4°W | 131 | 1976 | Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer | WGPSN |
Chu Ta | 2.04°N 105.66°W | 100 | 1976 | Zhu Da, Chinese painter | WGPSN |
Coleridge | 55.67°S 66.6°W | 112 | 1976 | Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet | WGPSN |
Copland | 37.63°N 72.99°E | 208 | 2010 | Aaron Copland, American composer | WGPSN |
Copley | 38.63°S 86.01°W | 34 | 1976 | John Singleton Copley, American painter | WGPSN |
Couperin | 29.74°N 151.94°W | 80 | 1979 | The Couperin family of French musicians | WGPSN |
Cunningham | 30.41°N 157.07°E | 37 | 2008 | Imogen Cunningham, American photographer | WGPSN |
D
E
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eastman | 9.52°N 125.76°E | 67 | 2009 | Charles Eastman, Sioux author | WGPSN |
Echegaray | 43.48°N 20.22°W | 63 | 1985 | José Echegaray, Spanish dramatist | WGPSN |
Egonu | 67.15°N 61.48°E | 25 | 2012 | Uzo Egonu, Nigerian artist | WGPSN |
Eitoku | 21.8°S 157.18°W | 101 | 1976 | Kanō Eitoku, Japanese artist | WGPSN |
Ellington | 12.88°S 26.1°E | 216 | 2012 | Duke Ellington, American musician | WGPSN |
Eminescu | 10.66°N 114.21°E | 129 | 2008 | Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet | WGPSN |
Enheduanna | 48.34°N 33.59°W | 105 | 2015 | Enheduanna, Sumerian poet | WGPSN |
Enwonwu | 10.01°S 121.96°E | 38 | 2008 | Ben Enwonwu, Nigerian painter | WGPSN |
Ensor | 82.32°N 17.53°W | 24.92 | 2013 | James Ensor, Belgian painter | WGPSN |
Equiano | 40°S 30.59°W | 102 | 1976 | Olaudah Equiano, Benin writer | WGPSN |
Erté | 27.44°N 117.33°W | 48.5 | 2013 | Erté, Russian-born French artist | WGPSN |
F
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Faulkner | 8.08°N 76.97°E | 168 | 2012 | William Faulkner, American author | WGPSN |
Fet | 4.72°S 179.78°E | 79 | 1985 | Afanasy Fet, Russian poet | WGPSN |
Firdousi | 3.47°N 65.32°E | 98 | 2010 | Hakim Ferdowsi, Persian poet | WGPSN |
Flaubert | 13.83°S 72.7°W | 95 | 1985 | Gustave Flaubert, French author | WGPSN |
Flaiano | 21.29°S 76.73°W | 43 | 2013 | Ennio Flaiano, Italian author | WGPSN |
Fonteyn | 32.82°N 95.51°E | 29 | 2012 | Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer | WGPSN |
Fuller | 82.63°N 42.65°W | 26.97 | 2013 | Richard Buckminster Fuller, American engineer and architect | WGPSN |
Futabatei | 16.05°S 83.52°W | 57 | 1976 | Futabatei Shimei, Japanese author | WGPSN |
G
H
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hafiz | 19.5°N 79.56°E | 280 | 2014 | Hafiz of Shiraz, Persian poet | WGPSN |
Hals | 54.96°S 114.99°W | 93 | 1985 | Frans Hals, Dutch painter | WGPSN |
Han Kan | 72.13°S 146.4°W | 50 | 1985 | Han Gan, Chinese painter | WGPSN |
Handel | 3.53°N 34.38°W | 138 | 1976 | George Frideric Handel, German composer | WGPSN |
Harunobu | 14.88°N 140.93°W | 107 | 1976 | Suzuki Harunobu, Japanese artist | WGPSN |
Hauptmann | 23.7°S 179.59°E | 118 | 1985 | Gerhart Hauptmann, German playwright | WGPSN |
Hawthorne | 51.31°S 115.34°W | 120 | 1979 | Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist | WGPSN |
Haydn | 27.22°S 71.64°W | 251 | 1976 | Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer | WGPSN |
Heaney | 33.77°S 237.71°W | 125 | 2017 | Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright | WGPSN |
Heine | 32.46°N 124.88°W | 73 | 1979 | Heinrich Heine, German poet | WGPSN |
Hemingway | 17.38°N 3.13°W | 126 | 2009 | Ernest Hemingway, American writer | WGPSN |
Henri | 79.68°N 152.98°E | 163.8 | 2012 | Robert Henri, American painter | WGPSN |
Hesiod | 58.27°S 34.25°W | 101 | 1976 | Hesiod, Ancient Greek poet | WGPSN |
Hiroshige | 13.34°S 26.96°W | 138 | 1976 | Andō Hiroshige, Japanese artist | WGPSN |
Hitomaro | 16.07°S 15.65°W | 105 | 1976 | Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Japanese poet | WGPSN |
Hodgkins | 29.12°N 17.97°E | 19 | 2009 | Frances Hodgkins, New Zealand painter | WGPSN |
Hokusai | 57.84°N 16.65°E | 114 | 2010 | Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese painter | WGPSN |
Holbein | 36.16°N 29.84°W | 115 | 1979 | Hans Holbein the Younger, German artist | WGPSN |
Holberg | 67.37°S 59.57°W | 64 | 1976 | Ludvig Holberg, Danish writer | WGPSN |
Holst | 17.42°S 44.96°E | 170 | 2012 | Gustav Holst, British composer | WGPSN |
Homer | 1.3°S 36.62°W | 319 | 1976 | Homer, Ancient Greek poet | WGPSN |
Hopper | 12.44°S 55.96°W | 36 | 2012 | Edward Hopper, American painter | WGPSN |
Horace | 69.34°S 50.02°W | 56 | 1976 | Horace, Roman poet | WGPSN |
Hovnatanian | 7.68°S 172.71°E | 34 | 2008 | Hakob Hovnatanian, Armenian painter | WGPSN |
Hugo | 39.61°N 48.49°W | 206 | 1979 | Victor Hugo, French writer | WGPSN |
Hun Kal | 0.47°S 19.93°W | 0.93 | 1976 | '20' in the language of the Maya (serves as Mercury's a meridian reference point) | WGPSN |
Hurley | 87.36°S 6.99°W | 67 | 2013 | Frank Hurley, Australian photographer | WGPSN |
I
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ibsen | 24.35°S 35.89°W | 159 | 1976 | Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright | WGPSN |
Ictinus | 79.56°S 174.24°W | 58.03 | 1976 | Iktinos, Ancient Greek architect | WGPSN |
Imhotep | 17.97°S 37.48°W | 159 | 1976 | Imhotep, Ancient Egyptian architect | WGPSN |
Ives | 32.87°S 111.99°W | 18 | 1979 | Charles Ives, American composer | WGPSN |
Izquierdo | 1.66°S 107.04°E | 174 | 2009 | María Izquierdo, Mexican painter | WGPSN |
J
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Janáček | 55.72°N 154.85°W | 47 | 1985 | Leoš Janáček, Czech composer | WGPSN |
Jiménez | 81.83°N 152.31°W | 27 | 2019 | Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet and author | WGPSN |
Jókai | 71.93°N 138.45°W | 93 | 1979 | Mór Jókai, Hungarian writer | WGPSN |
Jobim | 32.45°N 66.88°W | 167 | 2015 | Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian composer | WGPSN |
Joplin | 38.56°S 25.51°E | 139 | 2012 | Scott Joplin, American composer | WGPSN |
Josetsu | 83.58°N 134.93°W | 30 | 2019 | Taikō Josetsu, Japanese ink painter | WGPSN |
Judah Ha-Levi | 10.79°N 108.01°W | 85 | 1976 | Yehuda Halevi, Spanish-Jewish writer | WGPSN |
K
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kandinsky | 87.89°N 78.78°E | 60 | 2012 | Wassily Kandinsky, Russian painter | WGPSN |
Karsh | 35.49°S 78.85°E | 58 | 2015 | Yousuf Karsh, Armenian-Canadian photographer | WGPSN |
Kālidāsā | 18.21°S 179.82°W | 160 | 1976 | Kālidāsa, Sanskrit writer | WGPSN |
Keats | 70.31°S 156.65°W | 107.85 | 1976 | John Keats, English poet | WGPSN |
Kenkō | 21.35°S 16.16°W | 105 | 1976 | Yoshida Kenkō, Japanese writer | WGPSN |
Kerouac | 25.21°N 129.1°E | 110 | 2015 | Jack Kerouac, American writer | WGPSN |
Kertész | 27.37°N 146.08°E | 32 | 2008 | André Kertész, Hungarian photographer | WGPSN |
Khansa | 58.95°S 51.94°W | 113 | 1976 | Al-Khansa, Arabic poet | WGPSN |
Kipling | 19.37°S 72.02°E | 164 | 2010 | Rudyard Kipling, English author | WGPSN |
Kirby | 82.96°N 151.32°W | 31 | 2019 | Jack Kirby, American illustrator | WGPSN |
Kobro | 82.16°S 81.22°E | 54 | 2012 | Katarzyna Kobro, Polish sculptor | WGPSN |
Kofi | 56.75°N 117.87°E | 136 | 2012 | Vincent Kofi, Ghanaian sculptor | WGPSN |
Komeda | 82.74°S 90.47°E | 54 | 2012 | Krzysztof Komeda, Polish composer | WGPSN |
Kōshō | 59.93°N 139.87°W | 64 | 1985 | Kōshō, Japanese sculptor | WGPSN |
Kuan Han-Chʻing | 29.44°N 53.67°W | 143 | 1979 | Guan Hanqing, Chinese playwright | WGPSN |
Kuiper | 11.34°S 31.32°W | 62 | 1976 | Gerard Kuiper, American astronomer | WGPSN |
Kulthum | 50.72°N 93.53°E | 31 | 2015 | Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer | WGPSN |
Kunisada | 1.37°N 113.02°E | 241.45 | 2009 | Utagawa Kunisada, Japanese woodblock printmaker | WGPSN |
Kuniyoshi | 57.87°S 37.49°W | 27 | 2014 | Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Japanese painter and printmaker | WGPSN |
Kurosawa | 52.44°S 21.49°W | 152 | 1976 | Kinko Kurosawa, Japanese musician | WGPSN |
Kyōsai | 25.15°N 4.86°E | 39 | 2012 | Kawanabe Kyōsai, Japanese artist | WGPSN |
L
M
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ma Chih-Yuan | 60.01°S 78.01°W | 197 | 1976 | Ma Zhiyuan, Chinese writer | WGPSN |
Machaut | 2.05°S 82.37°W | 104 | 1976 | Guillaume de Machaut, French poet and composer | WGPSN |
MacNicol | 68.19°S 355.95°W | 42 | 2022 | Bessie MacNicol, Scottish painter | WGPSN |
Magritte | 72.78°S 121.63°E | 149 | 2012 | René Magritte, Belgian painter | WGPSN |
Mahler | 19.68°S 18.82°W | 104 | 1976 | Gustav Mahler, Bohemian composer | WGPSN |
Mansart | 72.72°N 123.36°W | 84.97 | 1979 | Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect | WGPSN |
Mansur | 47.41°N 163.61°W | 95 | 1979 | Ustad Mansur, Mughal artist | WGPSN |
March | 30.95°N 176.3°W | 83 | 1979 | Ausiàs March, Catalan poet | WGPSN |
Mark Twain | 10.91°S 138.28°W | 142 | 1976 | Mark Twain, American novelist | WGPSN |
Martí | 75.96°S 168.26°W | 69.48 | 1976 | José Martí, Cuban writer | WGPSN |
Martins | 8°S 304.93°W | 12.4 | 2019 | Maria Martins, Brazilian sculptor | WGPSN |
Martial | 68.47°N 178.33°W | 51 | 1979 | Martial, Roman poet | WGPSN |
Matabei | 39.85°S 14.05°W | 24 | 2009 | Iwasa Matabei, Japanese painter | WGPSN |
Matisse | 23.83°S 90.05°W | 189.04 | 1976 | Henri Matisse, French painter | WGPSN |
Melville | 22.01°N 9.89°W | 146 | 1976 | Herman Melville, American novelist | WGPSN |
Mena | 0.17°S 124.73°W | 15 | 1976 | Juan de Mena, Spanish poet | WGPSN |
Mendelssohn | 70.07°N 257.45°W | 291 | 2012 | Felix Mendelssohn, German composer | WGPSN |
Mendes Pinto | 61.65°S 17.57°W | 192 | 1976 | Fernão Mendes Pinto, Portuguese writer | WGPSN |
Michelangelo | 44.92°S 109.78°W | 229.71 | 1979 | Michelangelo, Italian artist | WGPSN |
Mickiewicz | 23.15°N 103.23°W | 103 | 1976 | Adam Mickiewicz, Polish writer | WGPSN |
Milton | 26.1°S 175.03°W | 180.85 | 1976 | John Milton, English poet | WGPSN |
Mistral | 4.7°N 54.67°W | 102 | 1976 | Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet | WGPSN |
Mofolo | 37.68°S 28.22°W | 103 | 1976 | Thomas Mofolo, Lesotho writer | WGPSN |
Molière | 15.4°N 17.71°W | 139 | 1976 | Molière, French playwright | WGPSN |
Monet | 44.23°N 9.77°W | 203 | 1979 | Claude Monet, French artist | WGPSN |
Monk | 66.08°N 63.81°E | 12 | 2013 | Thelonious Monk, American jazz musician | WGPSN |
Monteverdi | 64.49°N 81.01°W | 134 | 1979 | Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer | WGPSN |
Moody | 13.21°S 144.85°E | 83 | 2008 | Ronald Moody, Jamaican painter | WGPSN |
Morrison | 79.66°N 232.57°E | 35 | 2022 | Toni Morrison; American author | WGPSN |
Mozart | 7.75°N 169.41°E | 241 | 1976 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer | WGPSN |
Munch | 40.48°N 152.82°E | 57 | 2008 | Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter | WGPSN |
Munkácsy | 21.95°N 101.14°E | 193 | 2009 | Mihály Munkácsy, Hungarian painter | WGPSN |
Murasaki | 12.54°S 30.4°W | 132 | 1976 | Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese writer | WGPSN |
Mussorgskij | 32.82°N 97.65°W | 115 | 1979 | Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer | WGPSN |
Myron | 71.21°N 84.86°W | 25 | 1979 | Myron, Ancient Greek sculptor | WGPSN |
N
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nabokov | 14.56°S 55.76°E | 166 | 2012 | Vladimir Nabokov, Russian and American writer | WGPSN |
Nairne | 70.34°S 1.59°E | 56 | 2022 | Carolina Nairne, Scottish songwriter | WGPSN |
Namatjira | 58.82°N 33.04°W | 34 | 2015 | Albert Namatjira, Australian Aboriginal artist | WGPSN |
Nampeyo | 40.33°S 49.96°W | 49 | 1976 | Nampeyo, Hopi potter | WGPSN |
Navoi | 58.82°N 160.41°E | 69 | 2008 | Ali-Shir Nava'i, Uzbek poet | WGPSN |
Nāwahī | 35.88°N 145.26°E | 38 | 2008 | Joseph Nāwahī, Hawaiian painter | WGPSN |
Neruda | 52.66°S 125.79°E | 112 | 2008 | Jan Neruda, Czech poet and writer, and Johann Baptist Georg Neruda, Czech composer | WGPSN |
Nervo | 42.7°N 179.89°W | 66 | 1979 | Amado Nervo, Mexican poet | WGPSN |
Neumann | 37.22°S 34.56°W | 122 | 1976 | Johann Balthasar Neumann, German architect | WGPSN |
Nizāmī | 70.46°N 166.71°W | 77 | 1979 | Nizami, Persian poet | WGPSN |
Nureyev | 11.68°N 173.13°W | 16 | 2012 | Rudolf Nureyev, Soviet and British ballet dancer | WGPSN |
O
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ōkyo | 70.05°S 74.66°W | 66 | 1985 | Maruyama Ōkyo, Japanese painter | WGPSN |
Oskison | 60.36°N 145.24°E | 122 | 2008 | John Milton Oskison, Cherokee author | WGPSN |
Ovid | 69.77°S 20.23°W | 41 | 1976 | Ovid, Roman poet | WGPSN |
P
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pahinui | 28.16°S 213.21°W | 54 | 2013 | Gabby Pahinui, Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and singer | WGPSN |
Pasch | 46.12°N 134.75°E | 37 | 2012 | Ulrika Pasch, Swedish painter | WGPSN |
Petipa | 11.54°N 21.05°E | 12 | 2012 | Marius Petipa, French and Russian choreographer and dancer | WGPSN |
Petőfi | 83.55°S 119.35°E | 61 | 2013 | Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet | WGPSN |
Petrarch | 30.52°S 26.29°W | 167 | 1976 | Petrarch, Italian poet | WGPSN |
Petronius | 86.06°N 40.51°W | 36 | 2012 | Petronius, Roman author | WGPSN |
Phidias | 8.97°N 149.73°W | 168 | 1976 | Phidias, Ancient Greek artist and architect | WGPSN |
Philoxenus | 8.68°S 111.75°W | 87 | 1976 | Philoxenus of Cythera, Ancient Greek poet | WGPSN |
Picasso | 3.44°N 50.24°E | 134 | 2010 | Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter | WGPSN |
Pigalle | 37.65°S 9.64°W | 153 | 1976 | Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor | WGPSN |
Plath | 37.86°N 38.84°W | 35 | 2015 | Sylvia Plath, American poet | WGPSN |
Po Chü-I | 6.94°S 165.28°W | 70 | 1976 | Bai Juyi, Chinese poet | WGPSN |
Po Ya | 45.92°S 20.17°W | 101 | 1976 | Bo Ya, Chinese musician | WGPSN |
Poe | 43.76°N 159.1°E | 77 | 2008 | Edgar Allan Poe, American poet | WGPSN |
Polygnotus | 0.13°S 69.26°W | 124 | 1976 | Polygnotus, Ancient Greek painter | WGPSN |
Popova | 34.72°S 66.73°W | 34 | 2012 | Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and designer | WGPSN |
Praxiteles | 27.11°N 60.28°W | 198 | 1979 | Praxiteles, Ancient Greek sculptor | WGPSN |
Prokofiev | 85.77°N 62.92°E | 112 | 2012 | Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer | WGPSN |
Proust | 19.56°N 47.59°W | 145 | 1976 | Marcel Proust, French novelist | WGPSN |
Puccini | 65.39°S 45.32°W | 76 | 1976 | Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer | WGPSN |
Purcell | 80.43°N 152.21°W | 87.67 | 1979 | Henry Purcell, English composer | WGPSN |
Pushkin | 65.79°S 20.73°W | 232 | 1976 | Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet | WGPSN |
Q
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Qi Baishi | 4.31°S 164.37°E | 15 | 2008 | Qi Baishi, Chinese painter | WGPSN |
Qiu Ying | 82.67°N 85.7°W | 20 | 2012 | Qiu Ying, Chinese painter | WGPSN |
R
S
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sadī | 79.24°S 51.26°W | 66.54 | 1976 | Saadi, Persian poet | WGPSN |
Saikaku | 71.96°N 177.97°W | 64 | 1979 | Ihara Saikaku, Japanese poet | WGPSN |
Sander | 42.43°N 154.56°E | 47 | 2008 | August Sander, German photographer | WGPSN |
Sanai | 13.37°S 6.99°W | 490 | 2014 | Sanai, Persian poet | WGPSN |
Sapkota | 86.09°N 132.79°W | 27.4 | 2015 | Mahananda Sapkota, Nepalese poet | WGPSN |
Sarmiento | 29.27°S 170.42°E | 95 | 1979 | Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian writer | WGPSN |
Savage | 8.59°S 93.41°E | 93 | 2013 | Augusta Savage, American sculptor | WGPSN |
Sayat-Nova | 27.98°S 122.7°W | 146 | 1979 | Sayat-Nova, Armenian poet | WGPSN |
Scarlatti | 40.7°N 101.16°W | 132 | 1979 | Domenico Scarlatti, Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composers | WGPSN |
Schoenberg | 16.06°S 136.08°W | 28 | 1976 | Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer | WGPSN |
Schubert | 43.21°S 54.26°W | 190 | 1976 | Franz Schubert, Austrian composer | WGPSN |
Scopas | 81.26°S 174.71°E | 83.16 | 1976 | Scopas, Ancient Greek sculptor and architect | WGPSN |
Sei | 64.61°S 88.59°W | 137 | 1976 | Sei Shōnagon, Japanese writer | WGPSN |
Seuss | 7.65°N 33.16°E | 64 | 2012 | Theodor Seuss Geisel, American author and cartoonist | WGPSN |
Shakespeare | 48.1°N 152.25°W | 399 | 1979 | William Shakespeare, English writer | WGPSN |
Shelley | 47.69°S 128.27°W | 171 | 1979 | Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet | WGPSN |
Sher-Gil | 45.26°S 134.74°E | 77 | 2008 | Amrita Sher-Gil, Indian painter | WGPSN |
Shevchenko | 53.64°S 46.02°W | 143 | 1976 | Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet | WGPSN |
Sholem Aleichem | 50.92°N 90.48°W | 196 | 1979 | Sholom Aleichem, Yiddish writer | WGPSN |
Sibelius | 49.5°S 145.37°W | 94 | 1985 | Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer | WGPSN |
Simonides | 29.13°S 44.85°W | 87 | 1985 | Simonides of Ceos, Greek poet | WGPSN |
Sinan | 15.46°N 30.59°W | 134 | 1976 | Mimar Sinan, Turkish architect | WGPSN |
Smetana | 48.25°S 70.17°W | 191 | 1985 | Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer | WGPSN |
Snorri | 9.17°S 83.24°W | 21 | 1976 | Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic poet | WGPSN |
Sophocles | 6.95°S 146.04°W | 142 | 1976 | Sophocles, Ancient Greek dramatist | WGPSN |
Sor Juana | 50.51°N 25.59°W | 102 | 1979 | Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican writer | WGPSN |
Sōseki | 39.31°N 38.77°W | 92 | 1985 | Natsume Sōseki, Japanese novelist | WGPSN |
Sōtatsu | 48.73°S 18.17°W | 157 | 1976 | Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Japanese artist | WGPSN |
Sousa | 46.69°N 0.63°E | 138 | 2012 | John Philip Sousa, American bandmaster and composer | WGPSN |
Spitteler | 69.18°S 60.26°W | 67 | 1976 | Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet | WGPSN |
Steichen | 12.79°S 77.04°E | 196 | 2010 | Edward Steichen, American photographer | WGPSN |
Stevenson | 2.05°N 143.88°W | 134 | 2012 | Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author | WGPSN |
Stieglitz | 72.54°N 67.63°E | 100 | 2012 | Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer | WGPSN |
Strauss | 70.42°N 285.53°E | 17 | 2019 | Strauss family of musicians | WGPSN |
Stravinsky | 51.95°N 78.9°W | 129 | 1979 | Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer | WGPSN |
Strindberg | 53.41°N 136.67°W | 189 | 1979 | August Strindberg, Swedish writer | WGPSN |
Sullivan | 16.19°S 86.88°W | 153.23 | 1976 | Louis Sullivan, American architect | WGPSN |
Sūr Dās | 46.98°S 93.57°W | 131 | 1979 | Sur, Hindu, poet | WGPSN |
Surikov | 36.98°S 124.9°W | 224 | 1979 | Vasily Surikov, Russian artist | WGPSN |
Sveinsdóttir | 2.83°S 100.32°E | 212.79 | 2008 | Júlíana Sveinsdóttir, Icelandic artist | WGPSN |
T
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Takanobu | 30.66°N 108.56°W | 72 | 1985 | Fujiwara no Takanobu, Japanese poet | WGPSN |
Takayoshi | 37.23°S 163.82°W | 136 | 1979 | Fujiwara no Takayoshi, Japanese painter | WGPSN |
Tansen | 4.11°N 71.67°W | 27 | 1976 | Tansen, Hindustani composer | WGPSN |
Thākur | 3.05°S 64.57°W | 111 | 1976 | Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer | WGPSN |
Theophanes | 5.02°S 142.78°W | 46 | 1976 | Theophanes the Greek, icon painter | WGPSN |
Thoreau | 5.94°N 132.64°W | 72 | 1985 | Henry David Thoreau, American poet | WGPSN |
Tintoretto | 47.99°S 22.95°W | 94 | 1976 | Tintoretto, Italian artist | WGPSN |
Titian | 3.69°S 42.53°W | 109 | 1976 | Titian, Italian artist | WGPSN |
To Ngoc Van | 52.49°N 111.7°W | 71 | 2009 | To Ngoc Van, Vietnamese painter | WGPSN |
Tolkien | 88.82°N 148.92°E | 50 | 2012 | J. R. R. Tolkien, English writer | WGPSN |
Tolstoj | 16.23°S 164.64°W | 355 | 1976 | Leo Tolstoy, Russian writer | WGPSN |
Travers | 28.0°S 329.1°W | 164 | 2018 | Pamela Lyndon Travers, British writer | WGPSN |
Tsʻai Wen-Chi | 23.47°N 23.15°W | 124 | 1976 | Cai Wenji, Chinese poet and composer | WGPSN |
Tsʻao Chan | 13.31°S 142.35°W | 110 | 1976 | Cao Xueqin, Chinese novelist | WGPSN |
Tsurayuki | 62.99°S 20.34°W | 83 | 1976 | Ki no Tsurayuki, Japanese writer | WGPSN |
Tung Yüan | 75.02°N 62.83°W | 60.46 | 1979 | Dong Yuan, Chinese artist | WGPSN |
Turgenev | 65.68°N 136.26°W | 136 | 1979 | Ivan Turgenev, Russian writer | WGPSN |
Tyagaraja | 3.89°N 148.9°W | 97 | 1976 | Tyāgarāja, Indian composer | WGPSN |
Tryggvadóttir | 89.55°N 171.56°W | 31 | 2012 | Nína Tryggvadóttir, Icelandic artist | WGPSN |
U
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unkei | 31.79°S 62.6°W | 121 | 1976 | Unkei, Japanese sculptor | WGPSN |
Ustad Isa | 31.91°S 166.11°W | 138 | 1979 | Ustad Isa, architect | WGPSN |
V
W
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wagner | 68.25°S 114.78°W | 134 | 1976 | Richard Wagner, German composer | WGPSN |
Wang Meng | 8.53°N 104.12°W | 165 | 1976 | Wang Meng, Chinese artist | WGPSN |
Warhol | 2.55°S 6.27°W | 91 | 2012 | Andy Warhol, American artist | WGPSN |
Waters | 8.96°S 105.45°W | 15 | 2012 | Muddy Waters, American musician | WGPSN |
Wen Tianxiang | 45.34°S 191.6°W | 166.42 | 2020 | Wen Tianxiang, Chinese poet | WGPSN |
Wergeland | 37.93°S 56.36°W | 42 | 1976 | Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian writer | WGPSN |
Whitman | 41.4°N 111.64°W | 64 | 1985 | Walt Whitman, American poet | WGPSN |
Wren | 24.84°N 35.95°W | 204 | 1979 | Christopher Wren, English architect | WGPSN |
X
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Xiao Zhao | 10.58°N 123.84°E | 24 | 2008 | Xiao Zhao, Chinese artist | WGPSN |
Y
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yamada | 82.54°N 136.16°E | 17.1 | 2015 | Kosaku Yamada, Japanese composer and conductor | WGPSN |
Yeats | 9.44°N 35.03°W | 92 | 1976 | William Butler Yeats, Irish poet | WGPSN |
Yoshikawa | 81.21°N 106.03°E | 30 | 2012 | Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese novelist | WGPSN |
Yun Sŏn-Do | 73.49°S 110.08°W | 76 | 1976 | Yun Seondo, Korean poet | WGPSN |
Z
Crater | Coordinates | Diameter (km) | Approval Year | Eponym | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zeami | 2.96°S 147.41°W | 129 | 1976 | Zeami Motokiyo, Japanese playwright | WGPSN |
Zola | 49.75°N 178.25°W | 70 | 1979 | Émile Zola, French novelist | WGPSN |
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.[11][12][13] 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.
Because only limited photographic evidence was 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.
See also
- List of geological features on Mercury
- List of quadrangles on Mercury
Note
- The total number of features also includes names that have been dropped or not yet unapproved by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
References
- "IAU - Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature - Mercury". US Geological Survey. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
- "Nomenclature Search Results: Mercury > Crater, Craters". usgs.gov. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature – International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- "Nomenclature Search Results: Moon > Crater, Craters". usgs.gov. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature – International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- "Nomenclature Search Results: Mars > Crater, Craters". usgs.gov. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature – International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- "Nomenclature Search Results: Venus > Crater, Craters". usgs.gov. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature – International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved August 14, 2017.
- Ritzel, Rebecca (December 20, 2012). "Ballet isn't rocket science, but the two aren't mutually exclusive, either". Washington Post. Washington DC, United States. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
- H-7 text_all.word
- "Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites". usgs.gov. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature – International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- "Beatles Legend John Lennon Among Those Honored with Mercury Craters". NASA. December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
- "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Lennon on Mercury". International Astronomical Union (IAU). December 16, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
- Trask, Newell J.; Daniel Dzurisin (1984). Geologic Map of the Discovery (H-11) Quadrangle of Mercury (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved December 7, 2007.
- 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.
- 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.