Tolkien (crater) explained
| Tolkien |
| Globe: | Mercury |
| Coordinates: | 88.82°N -211.08°W |
| Diameter: | 50 km |
| Eponym: | J. R. R. Tolkien |
Tolkien is one of the northernmost craters on Mercury, located in the Borealis quadrangle (north pole region) at 88.82 N, 211.08 W.[1] It is 50 km in diameter. It was named after the South African born British writer J. R. R. Tolkien. The name was approved by IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on August 6, 2012.[1] Since Tolkien is very close to the north pole, and Mercury has almost no axial tilt, Tolkien receives very little sunlight.[2] S band radar data from the Arecibo Observatory collected between 1999 and 2005 indicates a radar-bright area covers the entire floor of Tolkien, which is probably indicative of a water ice deposit.[3] [4] [5] [6]
See also
Notes and References
- , accessed 19 February 2019
- Web site: Permanently Shaded Polar Craters. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory. 15 November 2012.
- Chabot, N. L., D. J. Lawrence, G. A. Neumann, W. C. Feldman, and D. A. Paige, 2018. Mercury's Polar Deposits. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 13, Figure 13.2.
- Web site: Hot and Cold. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington. 16 March 2015.
- https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19411 PIA19411: Water Ice on Mercury
- 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
