Morrison (crater)
Appearance
![]() MESSENGER WAC | |
Planet | Mercury |
---|---|
Coordinates | 79°40′N 232°34′E / 79.66°N 232.57°E |
Quadrangle | Borealis |
Diameter | 35.0 km (21.7 mi) |
Eponym | Toni Morrison |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Morrison_crater_EW0257996537G.jpg/240px-Morrison_crater_EW0257996537G.jpg)
Morrison is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in September 2022. Morrison is named for the American author Toni Morrison, who lived from 1931 to 2019.[1]
Morrison has a region of permanent shadow along its southern rim, which has a bright radar signature. This is interpreted to represent a deposit of water ice.[2][3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Radar-bright_Deposits_near_Mercury%27s_North_Pole_messenger_orbit_image20120322.jpg/300px-Radar-bright_Deposits_near_Mercury%27s_North_Pole_messenger_orbit_image20120322.jpg)
To the south of Morrison are the craters Mansart and Bjornson. To the north are Rizal and Josetsu. To the east is Despréz.
References
[edit]- ^ "Morrison". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ PIA19411: Water Ice on Mercury, NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
- ^ John K. Harmon, Martin A. Slade, Melissa S. Rice, 2011. Radar imagery of Mercury’s putative polar ice: 1999–2005 Arecibo results. Icarus, 211, p37-50. doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2010.08.007