Faulkner (crater)

Faulkner
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Exaggerated color image by MESSENGER
Feature typeImpact crater
LocationEminescu quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates8°05′N 76°58′E / 8.08°N 76.97°E / 8.08; 76.97
Diameter168 km (104 mi)
EponymWilliam Faulkner
Part of Apārangi Planitia with Faulkner in upper right
Central Faulkner crater

Faulkner is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 168 kilometres (104 miles). Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on April 24, 2012. Faulkner is named for the American author William Faulkner.[1]

Faulkner is part of Apārangi Planitia, a flat plain extending to the south and west of the crater. Immediately to the east of Faulkner is an unnamed peak ring basin, one of 110 on Mercury.[2] Further to the southeast is another peak ring crater, Caravaggio.

  1. ^ "Faulkner". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ Chapman, C. R., Baker, D. M. H., Barnouin, O. S., Fassett, C. I., Marchie, S., Merline, W. J., Ostrach, L. R., Prockter, L. M., and Strom, R. G., 2018. Impact Cratering of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 9.