Alencar
MESSENGER NAC image
PlanetMercury
Coordinates63°30′S 103°30′W / 63.5°S 103.5°W / -63.5; -103.5
QuadrangleMichelangelo
Diameter120 km
EponymJosé de Alencar
Oblique view of Alencar crater

Alencar is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 120 kilometers.[1] Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1979. Alencar is named for the Brazilian novel writer José de Alencar, who lived from 1829 to 1877.[2]

Alencar has a complex central peak. On the west side of the central peak complex is a dark spot of low reflectance material (LRM), closely associated with hollows.[3]

Alencar is located to the north of the larger crater Bach.

References

  1. Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 0-7503-0620-3.
  2. "Alencar". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  3. 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


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.