Prokofiev
Oblique MESSENGER image looking south
PlanetMercury
Coordinates86°00′N 296°18′W / 86°N 296.3°W / 86; -296.3
QuadrangleBorealis
Diameter112 km
EponymSergei Prokofiev[1]
Prokofiev crater, near center. False-color image showing maximum temperatures of north polar region.
Mosaic of MESSENGER images

Prokofiev is a crater near the north pole of the planet Mercury, named after the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.[2] Data from the MESSENGER spacecraft indicates that it contains water ice and organic compounds.[3] Although other craters in Mercury's north polar region are also believed to contain ice, Prokofiev is the largest of them, with probable surface ice along the southern crater floor that is in perpetual darkness.[4]

Radar-bright deposits near the north pole. Prokofiev is near center.

References

  1. ^ "Ten Craters On Mercury Receive New Names". SpaceDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. ^ Gilsdorf, Ethan. "Tolkien Gets Crater on Mercury". Wired.
  3. ^ MESSENGER Finds New Evidence for Water Ice at Mercury's Poles
  4. ^ New evidence for surface water ice in small‐scale cold traps and in three large craters at the north polar region of Mercury from the Mercury Laser Altimeter, Ariel N. Deutsch, Gregory A. Neumann, James W. Head. 14 September 2017. Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 44, Issue 18. doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074723


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