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On the basis of that data, scientists have a first-order understanding of the geology and history of the planet. [4] [5] Mercury's surface shows intercrater plains, basins, smooth plains, craters, and tectonic features. Mercury's oldest surface is its intercrater plains, [4] [6] which are present (but much less extensive) on the Moon.
List of geological features on Mercury is an itemization of mountains, valleys, craters and other landform features of the planet Mercury.Different types of features are named after different things: Mercurian ridges are called dorsa, and are named after astronomers who made detailed studies of the planet; valleys are called valles, and are named after ancient abandoned cities, towns, and ...
Mercurian craters differ subtly from lunar craters in that the area blanketed by their ejecta is much smaller, a consequence of Mercury's stronger surface gravity. [61] According to International Astronomical Union rules, each new crater must be named after an artist who was famous for more than fifty years, and dead for more than three years ...
Following are the largest impact craters on various worlds of the Solar System. For a full list of named craters, see List of craters in the Solar System. The ratio column compares the crater diameter with the diameter of the impacted celestial body. The maximum crater diameter is 157% of the body diameter (the circumference along a great circle).
The inter-crater plains are distributed roughly uniformly over the entire surface of the planet. Caloris Basin—Mercury's largest impact crater (left side of image), is surrounded by a ring of mountains with chaotic terrain following this and eventually leading to smooth and inter-crater plains.
This is a list of officially named craters in the Solar System as named by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.As of 2017, there is a total of 5,223 craters on 40 astronomical bodies, which includes minor planets (asteroids and dwarf planets), planets, and natural satellites. [1]
A spacecraft has beamed back some of the best close-up photos ever of Mercury’s north pole. The European Space Agency released the snapshots Thursday, revealing the permanently shadowed craters ...
Geology of solar terrestrial planets; Planetary nomenclature; Planetary geology; List of extraterrestrial dune fields; List of tallest mountains in the Solar System; List of craters in the Solar System; List of largest craters in the Solar System; List of largest rifts, canyons and valleys in the Solar System