Ma Chih-Yuan (crater)

Ma Chih-Yuan
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MESSENGER NAC mosaic of Ma Chih-Yuan
Feature typePeak-ring impact basin
LocationDiscovery quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates60°01′S 78°01′W / 60.01°S 78.01°W / -60.01; -78.01
Diameter197.0 km (122.4 mi)
EponymMa Zhiyuan

Ma Chih-Yuan is a crater on Mercury.[1] Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976. Ma Chih-Yuan is named for the Chinese playwright Ma Zhiyuan, who lived in the 13th century CE.[2]

Ma Chih-Yuan is one of 110 peak ring basins on Mercury.[3] It is ancient and highly eroded, unlike Raditladi, for example.

To the east of Ma Chih-Yuan is Rabelais crater. To the northeast is Coleridge crater, and to the southwest is Sei crater.

  1. ^ Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 0-7503-0620-3.
  2. ^ "Ma Chih-Yuan". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  3. ^ 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.