Vivaldi (crater)

Vivaldi
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MESSENGER WAC
Feature typePeak-ring impact basin
LocationBeethoven quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates13°46′N 85°55′W / 13.76°N 85.92°W / 13.76; -85.92
Diameter213.0 km (132.4 mi)
EponymAntonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi is a crater on Mercury. It was named by the IAU after Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi in 1976.[1] It has a prominent and nearly continuous inner ring whose diameter measures about half that of the outer ring. It is one of 110 peak ring basins on Mercury.[2] Unlike some of the lunar multiringed structures, no vestiges of additional rings are apparent around this crater. It is classified as c3 age.[3]

A confirmed dark spot is present in along the northern peak ring.[4] This dark spot is associated with hollows.


  • Mariner 10 image from 1974
    Mariner 10 image from 1974
  • Vivaldi is the large, shadow-filled, double ringed crater to the upper right. From MESSENGER's first flyby in January 2008.
    Vivaldi is the large, shadow-filled, double ringed crater to the upper right. From MESSENGER's first flyby in January 2008.
  • Interior of Vivaldi showing possible hollows on the peak ring.
    Interior of Vivaldi showing possible hollows on the peak ring.
  • Exaggerated color image
    Exaggerated color image
  1. ^ "Vivaldi". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  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.
  3. ^ King, John S.; David H. Scott (1990). "Geologic Map Of The Beethoven (H-7) Quadrangle Of Mercury" (PDF).
  4. ^ 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