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Sapkota (crater)

Coordinates: 86°05′N 132°47′W / 86.09°N 132.79°W / 86.09; -132.79
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Sapkota
MESSENGER image
PlanetMercury
Coordinates86°05′N 132°47′W / 86.09°N 132.79°W / 86.09; -132.79
QuadrangleBorealis
Diameter27.4 km
EponymMahananda Sapkota

Sapkota is a crater on Mercury, located near the north pole. It was named by the IAU in 2015, after Nepalese poet Mahananda Sapkota.[1]

S band radar data from the Arecibo Observatory collected between 1999 and 2005 indicates a lack of a radar-bright area within the interior of Sapkota, despite the fact that the floor of the crater is in permanent shadow.[2] Many nearby craters do have radar-bright areas which likely indicate water ice deposits.

References

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  1. ^ Sapkota, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN)
  2. ^ 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.