 MESSENGER WAC image of Carolan | |
| Feature type | Impact crater |
|---|---|
| Location | Borealis quadrangle, Mercury |
| Coordinates | 83°53′N 31°46′E / 83.88°N 31.77°E / 83.88; 31.77 |
| Diameter | 24.34 km (15.12 mi) |
| Eponym | Turlough O'Carolan |
Carolan is a crater on Mercury. Its name was suggested by an Irishman, Fergal Donnelly, and two Americans, Joseph Brusseau and Deane Morrison, in a naming contest which was eventually adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 2015. Carolan is named for the Irish composer and performer Turlough O'Carolan, who lived from 1670 to 1738 C.E. The craters Kulthum, Enheduanna, Karsh, and Rivera were also named as part of the contest.
S band radar data from the Arecibo Observatory collected between 1999 and 2005 indicates a radar-bright area along the southern interior of Carolan, which is probably indicative of a water ice deposit, and lies within the permanently shadowed part of the crater. MESSENGER's Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) was used to measure surface reflectance of the surface of the planet, and the radar-bright material is covered by low-reflectance material.
Carolan lies to the southwest of the large crater Prokofiev.
References
- "Mercury Crater-naming Contest Winners Announced". www.iau.org.
- "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Carolan on Mercury". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- Chabot, N. L., D. J. Lawrence, G. A. Neumann, W. C. Feldman, and D. A. Paige, 2018. Mercury's Polar Deposits. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 13, Figure 13.2.
- 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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