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<span>Surface features</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Surface_features-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Surface features subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Surface_features-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Boulders" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Boulders"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Boulders</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Boulders-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Impact_basins_and_craters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Impact_basins_and_craters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Impact basins and craters</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Impact_basins_and_craters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li 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vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Faculae"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Faculae</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Faculae-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Terminology" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Terminology"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.6</span> <span>Terminology</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Terminology-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-High-albedo_polar_patches_and_possible_presence_of_ice" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#High-albedo_polar_patches_and_possible_presence_of_ice"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>High-albedo polar patches and possible presence of ice</span> </div> </a> <button 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<span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Mercury's biological history</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Mercury's_biological_history-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Mercury's biological history subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Mercury's_biological_history-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Habitability" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Habitability"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Habitability</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Habitability-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-References-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle References subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Original_references_for_Spanish_article" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Original_references_for_Spanish_article"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>Original references for Spanish article</span> </div> </a> <ul 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Available in 13 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-13" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">13 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A7_%D8%B9%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF" title="جيولوجيا عطارد – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="جيولوجيا عطارد" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%A7_%E0%A6%97%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B9%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%AD%E0%A7%82-%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC" title="বুধ গ্রহের ভূ-তত্ত্ব – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="বুধ গ্রহের ভূ-তত্ত্ব" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologia_de_Mercuri" title="Geologia de Mercuri – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Geologia de Mercuri" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolog%C3%ADa_de_Mercurio" title="Geología de Mercurio – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Geología de Mercurio" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkurioko_geologia" title="Merkurioko geologia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Merkurioko geologia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9ologie_de_Mercure" title="Géologie de Mercure – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Géologie de Mercure" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%88%98%EC%84%B1%EC%9D%98_%EC%A7%80%EC%A7%88%ED%95%99" title="수성의 지질학 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="수성의 지질학" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superficie_di_Mercurio" title="Superficie di Mercurio – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Superficie di Mercurio" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9C%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80" title="Геологија на Меркур – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Геологија на Меркур" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link 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.ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-No_footnotes plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-No_footnotes" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/40px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/60px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/80px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article includes a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">list of references</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Further_reading" title="Wikipedia:Further reading">related reading</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links" title="Wikipedia:External links">external links</a>, <b>but its sources remain unclear because it lacks <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Fact_and_Reference_Check" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check">improve</a> this article by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:When_to_cite" title="Wikipedia:When to cite">introducing</a> more precise citations.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">November 2021</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png/220px-Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png/330px-Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png/440px-Mercury_Double-Ring_Impact_Basin.png 2x" data-file-width="1018" data-file-height="1024" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Caravaggio_(crater)" title="Caravaggio (crater)">Caravaggio</a> is an example of a <a href="/wiki/Peak_ring_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Peak ring (crater)">Peak ring impact basin</a> on Mercury.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg/220px-A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg/330px-A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg/440px-A_Patch_of_Black_On_Mercury.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1018" data-file-height="1024" /></a><figcaption>Several areas on Mercury are extremely dark, such as a small crater within <a href="/wiki/Hemingway_(crater)" title="Hemingway (crater)">Hemingway</a> crater in the lower right.</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b>geology of Mercury</b> is the scientific study of the surface, <a href="/wiki/Crust_(geology)" title="Crust (geology)">crust</a>, and interior of the planet <a href="/wiki/Mercury_(planet)" title="Mercury (planet)">Mercury</a>. It emphasizes the composition, structure, history, and physical processes that shape the planet. It is analogous to the field of terrestrial <a href="/wiki/Geology" title="Geology">geology</a>. In <a href="/wiki/Planetary_science" title="Planetary science">planetary science</a>, the term <i>geology</i> is used in its broadest sense to mean the study of the solid parts of planets and moons. The term incorporates aspects of <a href="/wiki/Geophysics" title="Geophysics">geophysics</a>, <a href="/wiki/Geochemistry" title="Geochemistry">geochemistry</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mineralogy" title="Mineralogy">mineralogy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Geodesy" title="Geodesy">geodesy</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Cartography" title="Cartography">cartography</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Historically, Mercury has been the least understood of all the <a href="/wiki/Terrestrial_planets" class="mw-redirect" title="Terrestrial planets">terrestrial planets</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Solar_System" title="Solar System">Solar System</a>. This stems largely from its proximity to the <a href="/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">Sun</a> which makes reaching it with spacecraft technically challenging and Earth-based observations difficult. For decades, the principal source of geologic information about Mercury came from the 2,700 images taken by the <a href="/wiki/Mariner_10" title="Mariner 10">Mariner 10</a> spacecraft during three flybys of the planet from 1974 to 1975. These images covered about 45% of the planet’s surface, but many of them were unsuitable for detailed geologic investigation because of high sun angles which made it hard to determine surface morphology and <a href="/wiki/Topography" title="Topography">topography</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Strom1_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Strom1-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This dearth of information was greatly alleviated by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (<a href="/wiki/MESSENGER" title="MESSENGER">MESSENGER</a>) spacecraft which between 2008 and 2015 collected over 291,000 images <sup id="cite_ref-Messenger1_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Messenger1-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> covering the entire planet, along with a wealth of other scientific data. <a href="/wiki/The_European_Space_Agency" class="mw-redirect" title="The European Space Agency">The European Space Agency</a>'s (ESA's) <i><a href="/wiki/BepiColombo" title="BepiColombo">BepiColombo</a></i> spacecraft, scheduled to go into orbit around Mercury in 2026, is expected to help answer many of the remaining questions about Mercury's geology. </p><p>Mercury's surface is dominated by <a href="/wiki/Impact_craters" class="mw-redirect" title="Impact craters">impact craters</a>, basaltic rock and smooth plains, many of them a result of <a href="/wiki/Flood_basalt" title="Flood basalt">flood volcanism</a>, similar in some respects to the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_maria" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar maria">lunar maria</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-nasa_mercury_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nasa_mercury-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-discoverynews_20111005_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-discoverynews_20111005-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and locally by pyroclastic deposits.<sup id="cite_ref-becca_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-becca-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other notable features include <a href="/wiki/Volcanic_cone" title="Volcanic cone">vents</a> which appear to be the source of magma-carved valleys, often-grouped irregular-shaped depressions termed "hollows" that are believed to be the result of collapsed magma chambers,<sup id="cite_ref-jhuapl_20110929_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jhuapl_20110929-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Fault_scarp" title="Fault scarp">scarps</a> indicative of thrust faulting, and mineral deposits (possibly ice) inside craters at the poles. Long thought to be geologically inactive, new evidence suggests there may still be some level of activity.<sup id="cite_ref-messenger_GRS_evolution_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-messenger_GRS_evolution-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-jhuapl349_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jhuapl349-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Mercury's density implies a solid iron-rich core that accounts for about 60% of its volume (75% of its radius).<sup id="cite_ref-messenger_key2evolution_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-messenger_key2evolution-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mercury's magnetic equator is shifted nearly 20% of the planet's radius towards the north, the largest ratio of all planets.<sup id="cite_ref-messenger_offsetfield_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-messenger_offsetfield-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This shift suggests there being one or more iron-rich molten layers surrounding the core producing a dynamo effect similar to that of Earth. Additionally, the offset magnetic <a href="/wiki/Dipole" title="Dipole">dipole</a> may result in uneven surface weathering by the <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a>, knocking more surface particles up into the southern <a href="/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mercury" title="Atmosphere of Mercury">exosphere</a> and transporting them for deposit in the north. Scientists are gathering <a href="/wiki/Telemetry" title="Telemetry">telemetry</a> to determine if such is the case.<sup id="cite_ref-messenger_offsetfield_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-messenger_offsetfield-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Difficulties_in_exploration">Difficulties in exploration</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Difficulties in exploration"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mariner_10.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Mariner_10.jpg/200px-Mariner_10.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Mariner_10.jpg/300px-Mariner_10.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Mariner_10.jpg/400px-Mariner_10.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3008" data-file-height="2208" /></a><figcaption><i>Mariner 10</i> probe</figcaption></figure> <p>Reaching Mercury from Earth poses significant technical challenges, because the planet orbits so much closer to the Sun than does the Earth. A Mercury-bound <a href="/wiki/Spacecraft" title="Spacecraft">spacecraft</a> launched from Earth must travel 91 million kilometers into the Sun's <a href="/wiki/Gravity" title="Gravity">gravitational</a> <a href="/wiki/Potential_well" title="Potential well">potential well</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Starting from the Earth's <a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">orbital speed</a> of 30 km/s, the change in <a href="/wiki/Velocity" title="Velocity">velocity</a> (<a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">delta-v</a>) the spacecraft must make to enter into a <a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Hohmann transfer orbit</a> that passes near Mercury is large compared to other planetary missions. The <a href="/wiki/Potential_energy" title="Potential energy">potential energy</a> liberated by moving down the Sun's potential well becomes <a href="/wiki/Kinetic_energy" title="Kinetic energy">kinetic energy</a>; requiring another large delta-<i>v</i> to do anything other than rapidly pass by Mercury. In order to land safely or enter a stable orbit the spacecraft must rely entirely on rocket motors because Mercury has negligible atmosphere. A direct trip to Mercury actually requires more rocket fuel than that required to <a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">escape</a> the Solar System completely. As a result, only three space probes, <i><a href="/wiki/Mariner_10" title="Mariner 10">Mariner 10</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/MESSENGER" title="MESSENGER">MESSENGER</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/BepiColombo" title="BepiColombo">BepiColombo</a></i> have visited Mercury so far. </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg/200px-Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg/300px-Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg/400px-Mercury%27s_internal_structure1.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2448" data-file-height="2023" /></a><figcaption>Internal structure of Mercury</figcaption></figure> <p>Furthermore, the space environment near Mercury is demanding, posing the double dangers to spacecraft of intense <a href="/wiki/Solar_radiation" class="mw-redirect" title="Solar radiation">solar radiation</a> and high temperatures. </p><p>Historically, a second obstacle has been that Mercury's <a href="/wiki/Rotation_period" class="mw-redirect" title="Rotation period">period of rotation</a> is a slow 58 <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a> days,<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> so that spacecraft flybys are restricted to viewing only a single illuminated hemisphere. Unfortunately, even though Mariner 10 space probe flew past Mercury three times during 1974 and 1975, it observed the same area during each pass. This was because Mariner 10's orbital period was almost exactly 3 sidereal Mercury days, and the same face of the planet was lit at each of the close approaches. As a result, less than 45% of the planet's surface was mapped. </p><p>Earth-based observations are made difficult by Mercury's constant proximity to the Sun. This has several consequences: </p> <ol><li>Whenever the sky is dark enough for viewing through telescopes, Mercury is always already near the horizon, where viewing conditions are poor anyway due to atmospheric factors.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope" title="Hubble Space Telescope">Hubble Space Telescope</a> and other space observatories are usually prevented from pointing close to the Sun for safety reasons (Erroneously pointing such sensitive instruments at the Sun is likely to cause permanent damage).</li></ol> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Geological_history">Geological history</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Geological history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg/150px-Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="150" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg/225px-Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg/300px-Gravity_Anomalies_on_Mercury.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2400" data-file-height="2400" /></a><figcaption>Mercury – Gravity Anomalies – mass concentrations (red) suggest subsurface structure and evolution.</figcaption></figure> <p>Like the Earth, <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a>, Mercury's geologic history is divided into <a href="/wiki/Era_(geology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Era (geology)">eras</a>. From oldest to youngest, these are: the <a href="/wiki/Pre-Tolstojan" title="Pre-Tolstojan">pre-Tolstojan</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Tolstojan&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Tolstojan (page does not exist)">Tolstojan</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Calorian&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Calorian (page does not exist)">Calorian</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Mansurian_(geology)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mansurian (geology) (page does not exist)">Mansurian</a>, and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Kuiperian&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Kuiperian (page does not exist)">Kuiperian</a>. Their ages are based on <a href="/wiki/Relative_dating" title="Relative dating">relative dating</a> only.<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After the formation of Mercury along with the rest of the <a href="/wiki/Solar_System" title="Solar System">Solar System</a> 4.6 billion years ago, heavy bombardment by asteroids and comets ensued. The last intense bombardment phase, the <a href="/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment" title="Late Heavy Bombardment">Late Heavy Bombardment</a> came to an end about 3.8 billion years ago. Some regions or <a href="/wiki/Massif" title="Massif">massifs</a>, a prominent one being the one that formed the <a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a>, were filled by magma eruptions from within the planet. These created smooth intercrater plains similar to the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">maria</a> found on the Moon. Later, as the planet cooled and contracted, its surface began to crack and form ridges; these surface cracks and ridges can be seen on top of other features, such as the craters and smoother plains—a clear indication that they are more recent. Mercury's period of <a href="/wiki/Volcanism" title="Volcanism">volcanism</a> ended when the planet's mantle had contracted enough to prevent further <a href="/wiki/Lava" title="Lava">lava</a> from breaking through to the surface. This probably occurred at some point during its first 700 or 800 million years of history. </p><p>Since then, the main surface processes have been intermittent impacts. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Timeline">Timeline</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Timeline"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="timeline-wrapper"><map name="timeline_st395qjjb3c5bg5bn0yflurpppqw9ke"></map><img usemap="#timeline_st395qjjb3c5bg5bn0yflurpppqw9ke" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/st395qjjb3c5bg5bn0yflurpppqw9ke.png" /></div> <p>Time unit: millions of years </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Surface_features">Surface features</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Surface features"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Mercury's surface is overall similar in appearance to that of the <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a>, with extensive <a href="/wiki/Lunar_mare" title="Lunar mare">mare</a>-like plains and heavily cratered <a href="/wiki/Terrain" title="Terrain">terrains</a> similar to the <a href="/wiki/Geology_of_the_Moon" title="Geology of the Moon">lunar highlands</a> and made locally by accumulations of <a href="/wiki/Pyroclastic_rock" title="Pyroclastic rock">pyroclastic deposits</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-becca_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-becca-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; width:600px;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Topography </th></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size:88%"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg/600px-PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg" decoding="async" width="600" height="600" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg/900px-PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg/1200px-PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3750" data-file-height="3752" /></a></span> <div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Map of Mercury's northern hemisphere by the <a href="/wiki/MESSENGER#Scientific_instruments" title="MESSENGER">MLA</a> instrument on <i><a href="/wiki/MESSENGER" title="MESSENGER">MESSENGER</a></i><br />lowest (purple) to 10 km (6.2 mi) highest (red).</div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Boulders">Boulders</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Boulders"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Mercury compared to the <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a> has a rarity of <a href="/wiki/Boulder" title="Boulder">boulders</a>; about thirty times fewer boulders are found on Mercury than on the Moon. An explanation for this rarity is that the lifespan of Mercury's boulders can be less than the life span of boulders on the Moon (around 100 million years).<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Boulders that have been found on Mercury as associated with fresh <a href="/wiki/Impact_crater" title="Impact crater">impact craters</a> that are hundreds of meters in diameter or larger.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Impact_basins_and_craters">Impact basins and craters</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Impact basins and craters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Craters_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="Craters on Mercury">Craters on Mercury</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Caloris_basin_labeled.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Caloris_basin_labeled.png/150px-Caloris_basin_labeled.png" decoding="async" width="150" height="188" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Caloris_basin_labeled.png/225px-Caloris_basin_labeled.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Caloris_basin_labeled.png/300px-Caloris_basin_labeled.png 2x" data-file-width="1587" data-file-height="1989" /></a><figcaption>Mercury's <a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a> is one of the largest impact features in the <a href="/wiki/Solar_System" title="Solar System">Solar System</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Craters on Mercury range in diameter from small bowl-shaped craters to <a href="/wiki/Multi-ringed_basin" title="Multi-ringed basin">multi-ringed</a> <a href="/wiki/Impact_basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Impact basin">impact basins</a> hundreds of kilometers across. They appear in all states of degradation, from relatively fresh rayed-craters, to highly degraded crater remnants. Mercurian craters differ subtly from <a href="/wiki/Lunar_craters" title="Lunar craters">Lunar craters</a> – the extent of their ejecta blankets is much smaller, which is a consequence of the 2.5 times stronger surface gravity on Mercury.<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg/200px-Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="200" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg/300px-Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg/400px-Unmasking_the_Secrets_of_Mercury.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2500" data-file-height="2500" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/MESSENGER#Scientific_instruments" title="MESSENGER">MASCS</a> spectrum scan of Mercury's surface by <i><a href="/wiki/MESSENGER" title="MESSENGER">MESSENGER</a></i></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg/150px-Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg/225px-Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg/300px-Mercury%27s_%27Weird_Terrain%27.jpg 2x" data-file-width="832" data-file-height="700" /></a><figcaption>The so-called "Weird Terrain" formed by the <a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a> impact at its antipodal point</figcaption></figure> <p>The largest known crater is the enormous <a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a>, with a diameter of 1,550 km.<sup id="cite_ref-newscientist30012008_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-newscientist30012008-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A basin of comparable size, tentatively named <a href="/wiki/Skinakas_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Skinakas Basin">Skinakas Basin</a> had been postulated from low resolution Earth-based observations of the non-Mariner-imaged hemisphere, but has not been observed in <i>MESSENGER</i> imagery of the corresponding terrain. The impact which created the Caloris Basin was so powerful that its effects are seen on a global scale. It caused <a href="/wiki/Lava" title="Lava">lava</a> eruptions and left a concentric ring over 2 km tall surrounding the <a href="/wiki/Impact_crater" title="Impact crater">impact crater</a>. At the <a href="/wiki/Antipodes" title="Antipodes">antipode</a> of the Caloris Basin lies a large region of unusual, hilly and furrowed terrain, sometimes called "Weird Terrain". The favoured hypothesis for the origin of this <a href="/wiki/Geomorphology" title="Geomorphology">geomorphologic</a> unit is that shock waves generated during the impact traveled around the planet, and when they converged at the basin's antipode (180 degrees away) the high stresses were capable of fracturing the surface.<sup id="cite_ref-schultz_gault_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-schultz_gault-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A much less favoured idea was that this terrain formed as a result of the convergence of ejecta at this basin's antipode. Furthermore, the formation of the Caloris Basin appears to have produced a shallow depression concentric around the basin, which was later filled by the smooth plains (see below). </p><p>Overall about 15 impact basins have been identified on the imaged part of Mercury. Other notable basins include the 400 km wide, multi-ring, <a href="/wiki/Tolstoj_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Tolstoj Basin">Tolstoj Basin</a> which has an ejecta blanket extending up to 500 km from its rim, and its floor has been filled by smooth plains materials. <a href="/wiki/Beethoven_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Beethoven Basin">Beethoven Basin</a> also has a similar-sized ejecta blanket and a 625 km diameter rim.<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>As on the <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a>, fresh craters on Mercury show prominent bright <a href="/wiki/Ray_system" title="Ray system">ray systems</a>. These are made by ejected debris, which tend to be brighter while they remain relatively fresh because of a lesser amount of <a href="/wiki/Space_weathering" title="Space weathering">space weathering</a> than the surrounding older terrain. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Pit-floor_craters">Pit-floor craters</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Pit-floor craters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Some impact craters on Mercury have non-circular, irregularly shaped depressions or pits on their floors. Such craters have been termed pit-floor craters, and <i>MESSENGER</i> team members have suggested that such pits formed by the collapse of subsurface <a href="/wiki/Magma_chamber" title="Magma chamber">magma chambers</a>. If this suggestion is correct, the pits are evidence of <a href="/wiki/Volcanic" class="mw-redirect" title="Volcanic">volcanic</a> processes at work on Mercury.<sup id="cite_ref-jhuapl349_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jhuapl349-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Pit craters are rimless, often irregularly shaped, and steep-sided, and they display no associated <a href="/wiki/Ejecta" title="Ejecta">ejecta</a> or <a href="/wiki/Lava_flow" class="mw-redirect" title="Lava flow">lava flows</a> but are typically distinctive in color. For example, the pits of <a href="/wiki/Praxiteles_(crater)" title="Praxiteles (crater)">Praxiteles</a> have an orange hue.<sup id="cite_ref-jhuapl308_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jhuapl308-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Thought to be evidence of shallow magmatic activity, pit craters may have formed when subsurface magma drained elsewhere and left a roof area unsupported, leading to collapse and the formation of the pit. Major craters exhibiting these features include <a href="/wiki/Beckett_(crater)" title="Beckett (crater)">Beckett</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gibran_(crater)" title="Gibran (crater)">Gibran</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lermontov_(crater)" title="Lermontov (crater)">Lermontov</a>, <a href="/wiki/Picasso_(crater)" title="Picasso (crater)">Picasso</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Navoi_(crater)" title="Navoi (crater)">Navoi</a>, among others.<sup id="cite_ref-jhuapl335_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jhuapl335-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It was suggested that these pits with associated brighter and redder deposits may be pyroclastic deposits caused by explosive volcanism.<sup id="cite_ref-becca_6-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-becca-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Oblique_Abedin_2015.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Oblique_Abedin_2015.png/600px-Oblique_Abedin_2015.png" decoding="async" width="600" height="248" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Oblique_Abedin_2015.png/900px-Oblique_Abedin_2015.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Oblique_Abedin_2015.png/1200px-Oblique_Abedin_2015.png 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="1242" /></a><figcaption><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Interior of Abedin crater</div></figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Plains">Plains</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Plains"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There are two geologically distinct plains units on Mercury:<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-WagWolIva01_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-WagWolIva01-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Intercrater_plains_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="Intercrater plains on Mercury">Intercrater plains</a></i> are the oldest visible surface,<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> predating the heavily cratered terrain. They are gently rolling or hilly and occur in the regions between larger craters. The intercrater plains appear to have obliterated many earlier craters, and show a general paucity of smaller craters below about 30 km in diameter.<sup id="cite_ref-WagWolIva01_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-WagWolIva01-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is not clear whether they are of volcanic or impact origin.<sup id="cite_ref-WagWolIva01_21-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-WagWolIva01-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The intercrater plains are distributed roughly uniformly over the entire surface of the planet.</li> <li><i>Smooth plains</i> are widespread flat areas resembling the lunar maria, which fill depressions of various sizes. Notably, they fill a wide ring surrounding the Caloris Basin. An appreciable difference to the lunar maria is that the smooth plains of Mercury have the same albedo as the older intercrater plains. Despite a lack of unequivocally volcanic features, their localisation and lobate-shaped colour units strongly support a volcanic origin. All the Mercurian smooth plains formed significantly later than the Caloris basin, as evidenced by appreciably smaller crater densities than on the Caloris ejecta blanket.<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <p>The floor of the <a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a> is also filled by a geologically distinct flat plain, broken up by ridges and fractures in a roughly polygonal pattern. It is not clear whether they are volcanic lavas induced by the impact, or a large sheet of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Impact_melt&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Impact melt (page does not exist)">impact melt</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Spudis01_14-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Spudis01-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Tectonic_features">Tectonic features</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Tectonic features"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Discovery_Rupes.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Discovery_Rupes.jpg/75px-Discovery_Rupes.jpg" decoding="async" width="75" height="239" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Discovery_Rupes.jpg/113px-Discovery_Rupes.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Discovery_Rupes.jpg/150px-Discovery_Rupes.jpg 2x" data-file-width="220" data-file-height="700" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Discovery_Rupes" title="Discovery Rupes">Discovery Rupes</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>One unusual feature of the planet's surface is the numerous compression folds which crisscross the plains. It is thought that as the planet's interior cooled, it contracted and its surface began to deform. The folds can be seen on top of other features, such as craters and smoother plains, indicating that they are more recent.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mercury's surface is also flexed by significant <a href="/wiki/Tidal_bulge" class="mw-redirect" title="Tidal bulge">tidal bulges</a> raised by the Sun—the Sun's tides on Mercury are about 17% stronger than the Moon's on Earth.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Faculae">Faculae</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Faculae"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Faculae on Mercury are bright areas often surrounding irregular depressions. They are generally interpreted to be <a href="/wiki/Pyroclastic_rock" title="Pyroclastic rock">pyroclastic</a> in nature.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The faculae on Mercury are all named using words in different languages meaning <i>snake</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Terminology">Terminology</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Terminology"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Non-crater surface features are given the following names: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Albedo" title="Albedo">Albedo</a> features – areas of markedly different reflectivity</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dorsum_(astrogeology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dorsum (astrogeology)">Dorsa</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ridge" title="Ridge">ridges</a> (<i>see <a href="/wiki/List_of_ridges_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="List of ridges on Mercury">List of ridges on Mercury</a></i>)</li> <li>Montes — <a href="/wiki/Mountain" title="Mountain">mountains</a> (<i>see <a href="/wiki/List_of_geological_features_on_Mercury#Mountains" title="List of geological features on Mercury">List of mountains on Mercury</a></i>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Planitia" class="mw-redirect" title="Planitia">Planitiae</a> — <a href="/wiki/Plain" title="Plain">plains</a> (<i>see <a href="/wiki/List_of_plains_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="List of plains on Mercury">List of plains on Mercury</a></i>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rupes" title="Rupes">Rupes</a> — <a href="/wiki/Escarpment" title="Escarpment">scarps</a> (<i>see <a href="/wiki/List_of_scarps_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="List of scarps on Mercury">List of scarps on Mercury</a></i>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vallis_(planetary_geology)" title="Vallis (planetary geology)">Valles</a> — <a href="/wiki/Valley" title="Valley">valleys</a> (<i>see <a href="/wiki/List_of_valleys_on_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="List of valleys on Mercury">List of valleys on Mercury</a></i>)</li></ul> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="High-albedo_polar_patches_and_possible_presence_of_ice">High-albedo polar patches and possible presence of ice</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: High-albedo polar patches and possible presence of ice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The first radar observations of Mercury were carried out by the <a href="/wiki/Radiotelescope" class="mw-redirect" title="Radiotelescope">radiotelescopes</a> at <a href="/wiki/Arecibo_Observatory" title="Arecibo Observatory">Arecibo</a> (<a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a>) and <a href="/wiki/Goldstone_Deep_Space_Communications_Complex" title="Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex">Goldstone</a> (<a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a>, United States), with assistance from the U.S. <a href="/wiki/National_Radio_Astronomy_Observatory" title="National Radio Astronomy Observatory">National Radio Astronomy Observatory</a> <a href="/wiki/Very_Large_Array" title="Very Large Array">Very Large Array</a> (VLA) facility in <a href="/wiki/New_Mexico" title="New Mexico">New Mexico</a>. The transmissions sent from the NASA <a href="/wiki/Deep_Space_Network" class="mw-redirect" title="Deep Space Network">Deep Space Network</a> site at Goldstone were at a power level of 460 kW at 8.51 GHz; the signals received by the VLA multi-dish array detected points of radar reflectivity (radar luminosity) with depolarized waves from Mercury's north pole. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Merc_fig2sm.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Merc_fig2sm.jpg/220px-Merc_fig2sm.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="244" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Merc_fig2sm.jpg/330px-Merc_fig2sm.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Merc_fig2sm.jpg 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="400" /></a><figcaption>Radar image of Mercury's north pole.</figcaption></figure> <p>Radar maps of the surface of the planet were made using the Arecibo radiotelescope. The survey was conducted with 420 kW <a href="/wiki/Ultra_high_frequency" title="Ultra high frequency">UHF band</a> (2.4 GHz) radio waves which allowed for a 15 km resolution. This study not only confirmed the existence of the zones of high reflectivity and depolarization, but also found a number of new areas (bringing the total to 20) and was even able to survey the poles. It has been postulated that surface <a href="/wiki/Ice" title="Ice">ice</a> may be responsible for these high luminosity levels, as the silicate rocks that compose most of the surface of Mercury have exactly the opposite effect on luminosity. </p><p>In spite of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury may have surface ice, since temperatures near the poles are constantly below freezing point: On the polar plains, the temperature does not rise above −106 °C. Craters at Mercury's higher latitudes (discovered by radar surveys from Earth as well) may be deep enough to shield the ice from direct sunlight. Inside the craters, where there is no solar light, temperatures fall to −171 °C.<sup id="cite_ref-nssdc_ice_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nssdc_ice-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Despite <a href="/wiki/Sublimation_(chemistry)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sublimation (chemistry)">sublimation</a> into the vacuum of space, the temperature in the permanently shadowed region is so low that this sublimation is slow enough to potentially preserve deposited ice for billions of years. </p><p>At the South Pole, the location of a large zone of high reflectivity coincides with the location of the <a href="/wiki/Chao_Meng-Fu_(crater)" title="Chao Meng-Fu (crater)">Chao Meng-Fu crater</a>, and other small craters containing reflective areas have also been identified. At the North Pole, a number of craters smaller than Chao-Meng Fu have these reflective properties. </p><p>The strength of the radar reflections seen on Mercury are small compared to that which would occur with pure ice. This may be due to powder deposition that does not cover the surface of the crater completely or other causes, e.g. a thin overlying surface layer. However, the evidence for ice on Mercury is not definitive. The anomalous reflective properties could also be due to the existence of deposits of <a href="/wiki/Metal" title="Metal">metallic</a> <a href="/wiki/Sulfates" class="mw-redirect" title="Sulfates">sulfates</a> or other materials with high reflectance. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Possible_origin_of_ice">Possible origin of ice</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Possible origin of ice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Mercury is not unique in having craters that stand in permanent shadow; at the south pole of Earth's Moon there is a large crater (<a href="/wiki/Aitken_(crater)" title="Aitken (crater)">Aitken</a>) where some <a href="/wiki/Lunar_ice" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar ice">possible signs of the presence of ice</a> have been seen (although their interpretation is disputed). It is thought by astronomers that ice on both Mercury and the Moon must have originated from external sources, mostly impacting <a href="/wiki/Comet" title="Comet">comets</a>. These are known to contain large amounts, or a majority, of ice. It is therefore conceivable for meteorite impacts to have deposited water in the permanently shadow craters, where it would remain unwarmed for possibly billions of years due to the lack of an atmosphere to efficiently conduct heat and stable orientation of Mercury's <a href="/wiki/Axial_tilt" title="Axial tilt">rotation axis</a>. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; width:500px;"> <tbody><tr> <th>Mercury </th></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size:88%"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg/500px-PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg" decoding="async" width="500" height="272" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg/750px-PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg/1000px-PIA19411-Mercury-WaterIce-Radar-MDIS-Messenger-20150416.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4000" data-file-height="2179" /></a></span> <div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">Water ice (yellow) at Mercury's north polar region</div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Mercury's_biological_history"><span id="Mercury.27s_biological_history"></span>Mercury's biological history</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Mercury's biological history"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Habitability">Habitability</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Habitability"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There may be scientific support, based on studies reported in March 2020, for considering that parts of the planet Mercury may have been <a href="/wiki/Planetary_habitability" title="Planetary habitability">habitable</a>, and perhaps that <a href="/wiki/Life_form" class="mw-redirect" title="Life form">life forms</a>, albeit likely primitive <a href="/wiki/Microorganism" title="Microorganism">microorganisms</a>, may have existed on the planet.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20200324_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20200324-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-SR-20200316_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SR-20200316-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mercury" title="Atmosphere of Mercury">Atmosphere of Mercury</a> – Composition and properties of the atmosphere of the innermost planet of the Solar System</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_craters_on_Mercury" title="List of craters on Mercury">List of craters on Mercury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_geological_features_on_Mercury" title="List of geological features on Mercury">List of geological features on Mercury</a></li></ul> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output 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0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFGreeley,_Ronald1993" class="citation book cs1">Greeley, Ronald (1993). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/planetarylandsca00gree/page/1"><i>Planetary landscapes</i></a> (2nd ed.). 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Publicación de la University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory</li> <li><i>Our Solar System, A Geologic Snapshot</i>. NASA (NP-157). May 1992.</li> <li>Fotografía: <i>Mercury</i>. 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Tarbuck y Frederick K. Lutgens. Prentice Hall (1999).</li> <li>"Hielo en Mercurio" ("Ice on Mercury"). <i>El Universo, Enciclopedia de la Astronomía y el Espacio</i> ("The Universe, Encyclopedia of Astronomy and the Space"), Editorial Planeta-De Agostini, p. 141–145. Volume 5. (1997)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Mercury&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050905000210/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/past/mariner10.html"><i>Mariner 10</i></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/"><i>MESSENGER</i> probe</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nineplanets.org/mercury.html">Mercury on Nineplanets.org</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/BrowseTheGeologicSolarSystem/MercuryGeo.html">USGS Geology of Mercury</a> Retrieved 5 August 2007</li></ul> <div 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abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Mercury_(planet)" title="Template:Mercury (planet)"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Mercury_(planet)" title="Template talk:Mercury (planet)"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Mercury_(planet)" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Mercury (planet)"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Mercury" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Mercury_(planet)" title="Mercury (planet)">Mercury</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_Mercury_(planet)" title="Outline of Mercury (planet)">Outline</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Geography</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_albedo_features_on_Mercury" title="List of albedo features on Mercury">Albedo features</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mercury" title="Atmosphere of Mercury">Atmosphere</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_geological_features_on_Mercury" title="List of geological features on Mercury">Features</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercury%27s_magnetic_field" title="Mercury's magnetic field">Magnetic field</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Regions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_quadrangles_on_Mercury" title="List of quadrangles on Mercury">Quadrangles</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;"><a href="/wiki/List_of_quadrangles_on_Mercury" title="List of quadrangles on Mercury">Quadrangles</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bach_quadrangle" title="Bach quadrangle">Bach</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beethoven_quadrangle" title="Beethoven quadrangle">Beethoven</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Borealis_quadrangle" title="Borealis quadrangle">Borealis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Debussy_quadrangle" title="Debussy quadrangle">Debussy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Derain_quadrangle" title="Derain quadrangle">Derain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Discovery_quadrangle" title="Discovery quadrangle">Discovery</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eminescu_quadrangle" title="Eminescu quadrangle">Eminescu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hokusai_quadrangle" title="Hokusai quadrangle">Hokusai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuiper_quadrangle" title="Kuiper quadrangle">Kuiper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michelangelo_quadrangle" title="Michelangelo quadrangle">Michelangelo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neruda_quadrangle" title="Neruda quadrangle">Neruda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shakespeare_quadrangle" title="Shakespeare quadrangle">Shakespeare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raditladi_quadrangle" title="Raditladi quadrangle">Raditladi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tolstoj_quadrangle" title="Tolstoj quadrangle">Tolstoj</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Victoria_quadrangle" title="Victoria quadrangle">Victoria</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Mountains and<br />volcanoes</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Caloris_Montes" title="Caloris Montes">Caloris Montes</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Plains and<br /> plateaus</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ap%C4%81rangi_Planitia" title="Apārangi Planitia">Apārangi Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Borealis_Planitia" title="Borealis Planitia">Borealis Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Budh_Planitia" title="Budh Planitia">Budh Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caloris_Planitia" title="Caloris Planitia">Caloris Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mearcair_Planitia" title="Mearcair Planitia">Mearcair Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Odin_Planitia" title="Odin Planitia">Odin Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sobkou_Planitia" title="Sobkou Planitia">Sobkou Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stilbon_Planitia" title="Stilbon Planitia">Stilbon Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suisei_Planitia" title="Suisei Planitia">Suisei Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tir_Planitia" title="Tir Planitia">Tir Planitia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utaridi_Planitia" title="Utaridi Planitia">Utaridi Planitia</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Canyons and<br /> valleys</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arecibo_Catena" title="Arecibo Catena">Arecibo Catena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arecibo_Catena" title="Arecibo Catena">Arecibo Vallis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goldstone_Catena" title="Goldstone Catena">Goldstone Catena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goldstone_Catena" title="Goldstone Catena">Goldstone Vallis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haystack_Catena" title="Haystack Catena">Haystack Catena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haystack_Catena" title="Haystack Catena">Haystack Vallis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Simeiz_Vallis" title="Simeiz Vallis">Simeiz Vallis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Ridges and<br /> rupes</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Antoniadi_Dorsum" title="Antoniadi Dorsum">Antoniadi Dorsum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adventure_Rupes" title="Adventure Rupes">Adventure Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beagle_Rupes" title="Beagle Rupes">Beagle Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Discovery_Rupes" title="Discovery Rupes">Discovery Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enterprise_Rupes" title="Enterprise Rupes">Enterprise Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hero_Rupes" title="Hero Rupes">Hero Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Resolution_Rupes" title="Resolution Rupes">Resolution Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_Rupes" title="Santa María Rupes">Santa María Rupes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Victoria_Rupes" title="Victoria Rupes">Victoria Rupes</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Basins and<br /> fossae</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Caloris_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Caloris Basin">Caloris Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pantheon_Fossae" title="Pantheon Fossae">Pantheon Fossae</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raditladi_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Raditladi Basin">Raditladi Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rembrandt_(crater)" title="Rembrandt (crater)">Rembrandt Basin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Skinakas_(hypothetical_basin)" title="Skinakas (hypothetical basin)">Skinakas (hypothetical basin)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;"><a href="/wiki/List_of_craters_on_Mercury" title="List of craters on Mercury">Craters</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abedin_(crater)" title="Abedin (crater)">Abedin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abu_Nuwas_(crater)" title="Abu Nuwas (crater)">Abu Nuwas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Africanus_Horton_(crater)" title="Africanus Horton (crater)">Africanus Horton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ahmad_Baba_(crater)" title="Ahmad Baba (crater)">Ahmad Baba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ailey_(crater)" title="Ailey (crater)">Ailey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aksakov_(crater)" title="Aksakov (crater)">Aksakov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Akutagawa_(crater)" title="Akutagawa (crater)">Akutagawa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Akhtal_(crater)" title="Al-Akhtal (crater)">Al-Akhtal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alencar_(crater)" title="Alencar (crater)">Alencar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-Hamadhani_(crater)" title="Al-Hamadhani (crater)">Al-Hamadhani</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Al-J%C4%81hiz_(crater)" title="Al-Jāhiz (crater)">Al-Jāhiz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alver_(crater)" title="Alver (crater)">Alver</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amaral_(crater)" title="Amaral (crater)">Amaral</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amru_Al-Qays_(crater)" title="Amru Al-Qays (crater)">Amru Al-Qays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Andal_(crater)" title="Andal (crater)">Andal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aneirin_(crater)" title="Aneirin (crater)">Aneirin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Angelou_(crater)" title="Angelou (crater)">Angelou</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anguissola_(crater)" title="Anguissola (crater)">Anguissola</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anyte_(crater)" title="Anyte (crater)">Anyte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Apollodorus_(crater)" title="Apollodorus (crater)">Apollodorus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aristoxenus_(crater)" title="Aristoxenus (crater)">Aristoxenes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A%C5%9Bvagho%E1%B9%A3a_(crater)" title="Aśvaghoṣa (crater)">Aśvaghoṣa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atget_(crater)" title="Atget (crater)">Atget</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bach_(crater)" title="Bach (crater)">Bach</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balagtas_(crater)" title="Balagtas (crater)">Balagtas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balanchine_(crater)" title="Balanchine (crater)">Balanchine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baranauskas_(crater)" title="Baranauskas (crater)">Baranauskas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balzac_(crater)" title="Balzac (crater)">Balzac</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bart%C3%B3k_(crater)" title="Bartók (crater)">Bartók</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barma_(crater)" title="Barma (crater)">Barma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bash%C5%8D_(crater)" title="Bashō (crater)">Bashō</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beckett_(crater)" title="Beckett (crater)">Beckett</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beethoven_(crater)" title="Beethoven (crater)">Beethoven</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bek_(crater)" title="Bek (crater)">Bek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belinskij_(crater)" title="Belinskij (crater)">Belinskij</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bello_(crater)" title="Bello (crater)">Bello</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Benoit_(crater)" title="Benoit (crater)">Benoit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Berkel_(crater)" title="Berkel (crater)">Berkel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bernini_(crater)" title="Bernini (crater)">Bernini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bjornson_(crater)" title="Bjornson (crater)">Bjornson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Boccaccio_(crater)" title="Boccaccio (crater)">Boccaccio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Boethius_(Mercurian_crater)" title="Boethius (Mercurian crater)">Boethius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Botticelli_(crater)" title="Botticelli (crater)">Botticelli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brahms_(crater)" title="Brahms (crater)">Brahms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bramante_(crater)" title="Bramante (crater)">Bramante</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bront%C3%AB_(Mercurian_crater)" title="Brontë (Mercurian crater)">Brontë</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bruegel_(crater)" title="Bruegel (crater)">Bruegel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brunelleschi_(crater)" title="Brunelleschi (crater)">Brunelleschi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burns_(crater)" title="Burns (crater)">Burns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Byron_(crater)" title="Byron (crater)">Byron</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Callicrates_(crater)" title="Callicrates (crater)">Callicrates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cam%C3%B5es_(crater)" title="Camões (crater)">Camões</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carducci_(crater)" title="Carducci (crater)">Carducci</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carolan_(crater)" title="Carolan (crater)">Carolan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Calvino_(crater)" title="Calvino (crater)">Calvino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cervantes_(crater)" title="Cervantes (crater)">Cervantes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/C%C3%A9zanne_(crater)" title="Cézanne (crater)">Cézanne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chaikovskij_(crater)" title="Chaikovskij (crater)">Chaikovskij</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chao_Meng-Fu_(crater)" title="Chao Meng-Fu (crater)">Chao Meng-Fu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chekov_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Chekov (crater)">Chekov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chesterton_(crater)" title="Chesterton (crater)">Chesterton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chiang_K%CA%BBui_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Chiang Kʻui (crater)">Chiang Kʻui</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ch%C5%8Fng_Ch%CA%BC%C5%8Fl_(crater)" title="Chŏng Chʼŏl (crater)">Chŏng Chʼŏl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chopin_(crater)" title="Chopin (crater)">Chopin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chu_Ta_(crater)" title="Chu Ta (crater)">Chu Ta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coleridge_(crater)" title="Coleridge (crater)">Coleridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copland_(crater)" title="Copland (crater)">Copland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copley_(crater)" title="Copley (crater)">Copley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Couperin_(crater)" title="Couperin (crater)">Couperin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cunningham_(crater)" title="Cunningham (crater)">Cunningham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dali_(crater)" title="Dali (crater)">Dali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dario_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dario (crater)">Dario</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/De_Graft_(crater)" title="De Graft (crater)">De Graft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Debussy_(crater)" title="Debussy (crater)">Debussy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Degas_(crater)" title="Degas (crater)">Degas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delacroix_(crater)" title="Delacroix (crater)">Delacroix</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Derain_(crater)" title="Derain (crater)">Derain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Derzhavin_(crater)" title="Derzhavin (crater)">Derzhavin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Desprez_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Desprez (crater)">Desprez</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dickens_(crater)" title="Dickens (crater)">Dickens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dominici_(crater)" title="Dominici (crater)">Dominici</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Donne_(crater)" title="Donne (crater)">Donne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dostoevskij_(crater)" title="Dostoevskij (crater)">Dostoevskij</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dowland_(crater)" title="Dowland (crater)">Dowland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Durer_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Durer (crater)">Durer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dvorak_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Dvorak (crater)">Dvorak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastman_(crater)" title="Eastman (crater)">Eastman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eitoku_(crater)" title="Eitoku (crater)">Eitoku</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eminescu_(crater)" title="Eminescu (crater)">Eminescu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enheduanna_(crater)" title="Enheduanna (crater)">Enheduanna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enwonwu_(crater)" title="Enwonwu (crater)">Enwonwu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Equiano_(crater)" title="Equiano (crater)">Equiano</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Faulkner_(crater)" title="Faulkner (crater)">Faulkner</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fet_(crater)" title="Fet (crater)">Fet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Firdousi_(crater)" title="Firdousi (crater)">Firdousi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flaubert_(crater)" title="Flaubert (crater)">Flaubert</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flaiano_(crater)" title="Flaiano (crater)">Flaiano</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Futabatei_(crater)" title="Futabatei (crater)">Futabatei</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gainsborough_(crater)" title="Gainsborough (crater)">Gainsborough</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gauguin_(crater)" title="Gauguin (crater)">Gauguin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geddes_(crater)" title="Geddes (crater)">Geddes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ghiberti_(crater)" title="Ghiberti (crater)">Ghiberti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gibran_(crater)" title="Gibran (crater)">Gibran</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Giotto_(crater)" title="Giotto (crater)">Giotto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glinka_(crater)" title="Glinka (crater)">Glinka</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gluck_(crater)" title="Gluck (crater)">Gluck</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goethe_Basin" title="Goethe Basin">Goethe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gogol_(crater)" title="Gogol (crater)">Gogol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goya_(crater)" title="Goya (crater)">Goya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grieg_(crater)" title="Grieg (crater)">Grieg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guido_d%27Arezzo_(crater)" title="Guido d'Arezzo (crater)">Guido d'Arezzo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hals_(crater)" title="Hals (crater)">Hals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Han_Kan_(crater)" title="Han Kan (crater)">Han Kan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Handel_(crater)" title="Handel (crater)">Handel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harunobu_(crater)" title="Harunobu (crater)">Harunobu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hauptmann_(crater)" title="Hauptmann (crater)">Hauptmann</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hawthorne_(crater)" title="Hawthorne (crater)">Hawthorne</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haydn_(crater)" title="Haydn (crater)">Haydn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heine_(crater)" title="Heine (crater)">Heine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hemingway_(crater)" title="Hemingway (crater)">Hemingway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hesiod_(crater)" title="Hesiod (crater)">Hesiod</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hiroshige_(crater)" title="Hiroshige (crater)">Hiroshige</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hitomaro_(crater)" title="Hitomaro (crater)">Hitomaro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hodgkins_(crater)" title="Hodgkins (crater)">Hodgkins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hokusai_(crater)" title="Hokusai (crater)">Hokusai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holbein_(crater)" title="Holbein (crater)">Holbein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holberg_(crater)" title="Holberg (crater)">Holberg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holst_(crater)" title="Holst (crater)">Holst</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homer_(crater)" title="Homer (crater)">Homer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horace_(crater)" title="Horace (crater)">Horace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hovnatanian_(crater)" title="Hovnatanian (crater)">Hovnatanian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugo_(crater)" title="Hugo (crater)">Hugo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hun_Kal_(crater)" title="Hun Kal (crater)">Hun Kal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hurley_(crater)" title="Hurley (crater)">Hurley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ibsen_(crater)" title="Ibsen (crater)">Ibsen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ictinus_(crater)" title="Ictinus (crater)">Ictinus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imhotep_(crater)" title="Imhotep (crater)">Imhotep</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ives_(crater)" title="Ives (crater)">Ives</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Izquierdo_(crater)" title="Izquierdo (crater)">Izquierdo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jan%C3%A1%C4%8Dek_(crater)" title="Janáček (crater)">Janáček</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jokai_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Jokai (crater)">Jokai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judah_Ha-Levi_(crater)" title="Judah Ha-Levi (crater)">Judah Ha-Levi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kalidasa_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kalidasa (crater)">Kalidasa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Karsh_(crater)" title="Karsh (crater)">Karsh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Keats_(crater)" title="Keats (crater)">Keats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kenko_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kenko (crater)">Kenko</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kert%C3%A9sz_(crater)" title="Kertész (crater)">Kertész</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Khansa_(crater)" title="Khansa (crater)">Khansa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kipling_(crater)" title="Kipling (crater)">Kipling</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%C5%8Dsh%C5%8D_(crater)" title="Kōshō (crater)">Kōshō</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuan_Han-Ch%CA%BBing_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kuan Han-Chʻing (crater)">Kuan Han-Chʻing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuiper_(crater_on_Mercury)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kuiper (crater on Mercury)">Kuiper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kulthum_(crater)" title="Kulthum (crater)">Kulthum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kunisada_(crater)" title="Kunisada (crater)">Kunisada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kurosawa_(crater)" title="Kurosawa (crater)">Kurosawa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lange_(crater)" title="Lange (crater)">Lange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Larrocha_(crater)" title="Larrocha (crater)">Larrocha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leopardi_(crater)" title="Leopardi (crater)">Leopardi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lermontov_(crater)" title="Lermontov (crater)">Lermontov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lessing_(crater)" title="Lessing (crater)">Lessing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Li_Ch%CA%BBing-Chao_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Li Chʻing-Chao (crater)">Li Chʻing-Chao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Li_Po_(crater)" title="Li Po (crater)">Li Po</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liang_K%CA%BBai_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Liang Kʻai (crater)">Liang Kʻai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liszt_(crater)" title="Liszt (crater)">Liszt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lovecraft_(crater)" title="Lovecraft (crater)">Lovecraft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lu_Hsun_(crater)" title="Lu Hsun (crater)">Lu Hsun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lysippus_(crater)" title="Lysippus (crater)">Lysippus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ma_Chih-Yuan_(crater)" title="Ma Chih-Yuan (crater)">Ma Chih-Yuan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Machaut_(crater)" title="Machaut (crater)">Machaut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mahler_(crater)" title="Mahler (crater)">Mahler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mansart_(crater)" title="Mansart (crater)">Mansart</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mansur_(crater)" title="Mansur (crater)">Mansur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/March_(crater)" title="March (crater)">March</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mark_Twain_(crater)" title="Mark Twain (crater)">Mark Twain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mart%C3%AD_(crater)" title="Martí (crater)">Martí</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martial_(crater)" title="Martial (crater)">Martial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matabei_(crater)" title="Matabei (crater)">Matabei</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matisse_(crater)" title="Matisse (crater)">Matisse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Melville_(crater)" title="Melville (crater)">Melville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mena_(Mercurian_crater)" title="Mena (Mercurian crater)">Mena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mendes_Pinto_(crater)" title="Mendes Pinto (crater)">Mendes Pinto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michelangelo_(crater)" title="Michelangelo (crater)">Michelangelo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mickiewicz_(crater)" title="Mickiewicz (crater)">Mickiewicz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Milton_(crater)" title="Milton (crater)">Milton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mistral_(crater)" title="Mistral (crater)">Mistral</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mofolo_(crater)" title="Mofolo (crater)">Mofolo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moli%C3%A8re_(crater)" title="Molière (crater)">Molière</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monet_(crater)" title="Monet (crater)">Monet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monteverdi_(crater)" title="Monteverdi (crater)">Monteverdi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moody_(crater)" title="Moody (crater)">Moody</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mozart_(crater)" title="Mozart (crater)">Mozart</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Munch_(crater)" title="Munch (crater)">Munch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Munk%C3%A1csy_(crater)" title="Munkácsy (crater)">Munkácsy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Murasaki_(crater)" title="Murasaki (crater)">Murasaki</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mussorgskij_(crater)" title="Mussorgskij (crater)">Mussorgskij</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Myron_(crater)" title="Myron (crater)">Myron</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nabokov_(crater)" title="Nabokov (crater)">Nabokov</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nampeyo_(crater)" title="Nampeyo (crater)">Nampeyo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Navoi_(crater)" title="Navoi (crater)">Navoi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nawahi_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nawahi (crater)">Nawahi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neruda_(crater)" title="Neruda (crater)">Neruda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nureyev_(crater)" title="Nureyev (crater)">Nureyev</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nervo_(crater)" title="Nervo (crater)">Nervo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neumann_(crater)" title="Neumann (crater)">Neumann</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nizami_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nizami (crater)">Nizami</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Okyo_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Okyo (crater)">Okyo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oskison_(crater)" title="Oskison (crater)">Oskison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ovid_(crater)" title="Ovid (crater)">Ovid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Petrarch_(crater)" title="Petrarch (crater)">Petrarch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phidias_(crater)" title="Phidias (crater)">Phidias</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Picasso_(crater)" title="Picasso (crater)">Picasso</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poe_(crater)" title="Poe (crater)">Poe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polygnotus_(crater)" title="Polygnotus (crater)">Polygnotus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Praxiteles_(crater)" title="Praxiteles (crater)">Praxiteles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prokofiev_(crater)" title="Prokofiev (crater)">Prokofiev</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Qi_Baishi_(crater)" title="Qi Baishi (crater)">Qi Baishi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rachmaninoff_(crater)" title="Rachmaninoff (crater)">Rachmaninoff</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raden_Saleh_(crater)" title="Raden Saleh (crater)">Raden Saleh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raditladi_Basin" class="mw-redirect" title="Raditladi Basin">Raditladi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rameau_(crater)" title="Rameau (crater)">Rameau</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raphael_(crater)" title="Raphael (crater)">Raphael</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rembrandt_(crater)" title="Rembrandt (crater)">Rembrandt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Renoir_(crater)" title="Renoir (crater)">Renoir</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rivera_(crater)" title="Rivera (crater)">Rivera</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rizal_(crater)" title="Rizal (crater)">Rizal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rodin_(crater)" title="Rodin (crater)">Rodin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rudaki_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Rudaki (crater)">Rudaki</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sander_(crater)" title="Sander (crater)">Sander</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scarlatti_(crater)" title="Scarlatti (crater)">Scarlatti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Schubert_(crater_on_Mercury)" class="mw-redirect" title="Schubert (crater on Mercury)">Schubert</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shakespeare_(Mercurian_crater)" title="Shakespeare (Mercurian crater)">Shakespeare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem_(crater)" title="Sholem Aleichem (crater)">Sholem Aleichem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sinan_(crater)" title="Sinan (crater)">Sinan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stravinsky_(crater)" title="Stravinsky (crater)">Stravinsky</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sullivan_(crater_on_Mercury)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sullivan (crater on Mercury)">Sullivan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sveinsd%C3%B3ttir_(crater)" title="Sveinsdóttir (crater)">Sveinsdóttir</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Titian_(crater)" title="Titian (crater)">Titian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/To_Ngoc_Van_(crater)" title="To Ngoc Van (crater)">To Ngoc Van</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tolstoj_(crater)" title="Tolstoj (crater)">Tolstoj</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vel%C3%A1zquez_(crater)" title="Velázquez (crater)">Velázquez</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Verdi_(crater)" title="Verdi (crater)">Verdi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Villa-Lobos_(crater)" title="Villa-Lobos (crater)">Villa-Lobos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vivaldi_(crater)" title="Vivaldi (crater)">Vivaldi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vyasa_(crater)" class="mw-redirect" title="Vyasa (crater)">Vyasa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xiao_Zhao_(crater)" title="Xiao Zhao (crater)">Xiao Zhao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yeats_(crater)" title="Yeats (crater)">Yeats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zola_(crater)" title="Zola (crater)">Zola</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Geology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ghost_craters_on_Mercury" title="Ghost craters on Mercury">Ghost craters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inter-crater_plains_on_Mercury" title="Inter-crater plains on Mercury">Inter-crater plains</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Moons</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hypothetical_moon_of_Mercury" title="Hypothetical moon of Mercury">Hypothetical moon of Mercury</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Astronomy</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;"><a href="/wiki/Transit_(astronomy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Transit (astronomy)">Transits</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Transit_of_Mercury" title="Transit of Mercury">Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transit_of_Mercury_from_Mars" title="Transit of Mercury from Mars">Mars</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;"><a href="/wiki/Asteroid" title="Asteroid">Asteroids</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mercury-crossing_minor_planets" title="List of Mercury-crossing minor planets">Mercury-crossing asteroids</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Exploration_of_Mercury" title="Exploration of Mercury">Exploration</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Current<br /> and past</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Mariner_10" title="Mariner 10">Mariner 10</a></i> (1973–1975)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/MESSENGER" title="MESSENGER">MESSENGER</a></i> (2004–2015)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/BepiColombo" title="BepiColombo">BepiColombo</a> (2018–present)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">Proposed</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Mercury-P" title="Mercury-P">Mercury-P</a> (~2031)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align: center;">See also</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Colonization_of_Mercury" class="mw-redirect" title="Colonization of Mercury">Colonization of Mercury</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Mercury_in_fiction" title="Mercury in fiction">Fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sub-Earth" title="Sub-Earth">Sub-Earth</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><div> <ul><li><b><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Mercury_(planet)" title="Category:Mercury (planet)">Category</a></b></li> <li><b><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Symbol_portal_class.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Portal"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/16px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/23px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/31px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span> <a href="/wiki/Portal:Solar_System" title="Portal:Solar System">Portal</a></b></li></ul> 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