Hokusai (crater)
Hokusai is a rayed impact crater on Mercury, which was discovered in 1991 by ground based radar observations conducted in the Goldstone Observatory.[1] The crater was initially known as the feature B. Its appearance was so dissimilar to other impact craters that it once was thought to be a shield volcano. However improved radar images by the Arecibo Observatory obtained later in 2000–2005 clearly showed that the feature B is an impact crater having an extensive ray system. The bright appearance of rays in the radio images indicates that the crater is geologically young as the fresh impact ejecta has rough surface, which is a good scatterer of radio waves.[1]
Hokusai is named after Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), a Japanese artist and printmaker of the Edo period.[2] The name Hokusai was suggested by radar astronomer John K. Harmon.[3] It has the diameter of about 95 km (or 110 km), while the rays extend thousands kilometers from it covering much of the northern hemisphere.[4]
References
- ^ a b Harmon, John K.; Slade, Martin A.; Butler, Bryan J.; et al. (2007). "Mercury: Radar images of the equatorial and midlatitude zones". Icarus. 187: 374–405. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.09.026.
{{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|last4=(help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
ScienceDailywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=381
- ^ "PIA11356: Looking Back to the Source". NASA. October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2010.