Raphael (crater) explained

Raphael
Location:	Beethoven quadrangle, Mercury
Type:	Impact crater
Coordinates:	-20.42°N -76.35°W
Eponym:	Raphael

Raphael is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976, and is named for the Italian painter Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino).^[1] It is Tolstojan in age.^[2]

Unlike other Mercurian craters of similar size, Raphael is not multi-ringed.^[3]

The crater Flaiano lies just south of the center of Raphael.

There is also a high-albedo area east of Flaiano, that is associated with irregular depressions. The area was named Madu Facula by the IAU in 2023.^[4] The depressions are similar to those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with volcanic explosions.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Raphael . . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature . 13 August 2020.
2. Denevi, B. W., Ernst, C. M., Prockter, L. M., and Robinson, M. S., 2018. The Geologic History of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.3.
3. Trask, N.J., 1976, History of basin development on Mercury: Conference on Comparisons of Mercury and The Moon: Lunar Science Institute Contribution no. 262, p.36.
4. Web site: Madu Facula . . Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature . 22 August 2023.
5. Web site: Navoi: An Uncommon Crater Named for the Uzbek Poet. Messenger. 21 September 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231759/http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=302. 3 March 2016.