Raphael (crater)

Raphael
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MESSENGER approximate color image
Feature typeImpact crater
LocationBeethoven quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates20°25′S 76°21′W / 20.42°S 76.35°W / -20.42; -76.35
Diameter342 km (213 mi)
EponymRaphael
Another MESSENGER view

Raphael is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976, and is named for the Italian painter Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino).[1] It is Tolstojan in age.[2]

Unlike other Mercurian craters of similar size, Raphael is not multi-ringed.[3]

The crater Flaiano lies just south of the center of Raphael.

There is also a high-albedo area east of Flaiano, that is associated with irregular depressions. The area was named Madu Facula by the IAU in 2023.[4] The depressions are similar to those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with volcanic explosions.[5]

High-albedo area in Raphael crater, named Madu Facula
  1. ^ "Raphael". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. ^ Denevi, B. W., Ernst, C. M., Prockter, L. M., and Robinson, M. S., 2018. The Geologic History of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.3.
  3. ^ Trask, N.J., 1976, History of basin development on Mercury: Conference on Comparisons of Mercury and The Moon: Lunar Science Institute Contribution no. 262, p.36.
  4. ^ "Madu Facula". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Navoi: An Uncommon Crater Named for the Uzbek Poet". Messenger. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2012.