Donelaitis (crater)

Donelaitis
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MESSENGER NAC image of Donelaitis, slightly right of center
Feature typeCentral-peak impact crater
LocationDebussy quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates52°58′S 321°35′W / 52.96°S 321.58°W / -52.96; -321.58
Diameter85 km (53 mi)
EponymKristijonas Donelaitis

Donelaitis is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on May 15, 2013. Donelaitis is named for the Lithuanian poet Kristijonas Donelaitis.[1]

Around the central peak of Donelaitis crater is an irregular, U-shaped depression. The depression is similar to those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with explosive volcanism.[2][3] The irregular bright area of the crater floor including the depression was named Gata Facula in 2018.[4]

The crater Carleton is to the east. Some of the rays of Debussy crater to the northwest extend to the region of Donelaitis.

References

  1. ↑ "Donelaitis". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/USGS/NASA. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Navoi: An Uncommon Crater Named for the Uzbek Poet". Messenger. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Thomas, R. J., D. A. Rothery, S. J. Conway, and M. Anand (2014), Long-lived explosive volcanism on Mercury, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 6084–6092, doi:10.1002/2014GL061224.
  4. ↑ "Gata Facula". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/USGS/NASA. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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