Bello (crater)

Bello
}
MESSENGER NAC
Feature typeImpact crater
LocationBeethoven quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates18°54′S 120°00′W / 18.9°S 120.0°W / -18.9; -120.0
Diameter129 km (80 mi)
EponymAndrés Bello
Dark areas on west and south sides of Bello crater, at a low phase angle (~28°)

Bello is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 129 kilometers.[1] Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976. Bello is named for the Venezuelan poet Andrés Bello, who lived from 1781 to 1865.[2]

At the west rim of Bello is a dark spot of low reflectance material (LRM), closely associated with hollows.[3] Regions along the south and southeastern rims are also fairly dark.

Bello lies entirely within the Beethoven basin.

  1. ^ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 0-7503-0620-3.
  2. ^ "Bello". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  3. ^ Zhiyong Xiao, Robert G. Strom, David T. Blewett, Paul K. Byrne, Sean C. Solomon, Scott L. Murchie, Ann L. Sprague, Deborah L. Domingue, Jörn Helbert, 2013. Dark spots on Mercury: A distinctive low-reflectance material and its relation to hollows. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. doi.org/10.1002/jgre.20115