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In spite of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury may have surface ice, since temperatures near the poles are constantly below freezing point: On the polar plains, the temperature does not rise above −106 °C. Craters at Mercury's higher latitudes (discovered by radar surveys from Earth as well) may be deep enough to shield the ice from direct ...
Ghost craters are impact craters that have been filled with volcanic deposits. [5] Ghost craters can be observed on the surface of the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and may possibly exist on Venus. On Mercury, ghost craters are most commonly found in the northern hemisphere of the planet in the smooth plains. There are three types of ghost craters on ...
Mercurian: 414 craters (7.9%) Lunar: 1,624 craters (31.1%) Martian: 1,092 craters (20.9%) Venusian: 900 craters (17.2%) Others: 1,198 craters (22.9%) Distribution of named craters in the Solar System as of 2017. [a] This is a list of named craters on Mercury, the innermost planet of the Solar System (for other features, see list of geological features on Mercury). Most Mercurian craters are ...
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 ...
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 ...
As on the Moon, impact craters on Mercury are progressively degraded by subsequent impacts. [4] [7] The freshest craters have ray systems and a crisp morphology. With further degradation, the craters lose their crisp morphology and rays and features on the continuous ejecta become more blurred until only the raised rim near the crater remains ...
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. The most heavily cratered regions on Mercury contain large areas essentially free of impact craters with diameters greater than 50 kilometers.
Gold was estimated to have a soil mass abundance of 0.52% in these craters from LCROSS data, and mercury 0.39%. This high mercury abundance has been noted as a possible health hazard of water derived from permanently shadowed craters. [16] The craters may also contain unusually high concentrations of helium-3. [17]