Al-Hamadhani (crater)

Al-Hamadhani

MESSENGER WAC image. North is in upper left.
Feature type	Peak-ring impact basin
Location	Shakespeare quadrangle, Mercury
Coordinates	39°11′N 91°46′W / 39.19°N 91.76°W / 39.19; -91.76
Diameter	164 km (102 mi)
Eponym	Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani

Al-Hamadhani is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 186 kilometers.^[1] Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1979. Al-Hamadhani is named for the Iranian writer Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani, who died in 1007 C.E.^[2] The crater was first imaged by Mariner 10 in 1974.^[3]

Al-Hamadhani is one of 110 peak ring basins on Mercury.^[4]

• 
  Mariner 10 image with Al-Hamadhani and nearby Scarlatti at center
• 
  Approximate color image of most of the crater

Hollows

Hollows are present within Al-Hamadhani.

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  Hollows (irregular bright patches) in eastern Al-Hamadhani crater
• 
  A large patch of hollows on the western peak ring. Image is about 11.7 km wide.
• 
  Close-up of some of the small hollows in the image to the left. Image is about 2 km wide.

References

1. Moore, Patrick (2000). The Data Book of Astronomy. Institute of Physics Publishing. ISBN 0-7503-0620-3.
2. "Al-Hamadhani". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
3. Davies, M. E.; Dwornik, S. E.; Gault, D. E.; Strom, R. G. (1978). Atlas of Mercury. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 1–128. ISBN 978-1-114-27448-8. Special Publication SP-423.
4. Chapman, C. R., Baker, D. M. H., Barnouin, O. S., Fassett, C. I., Marchie, S., Merline, W. J., Ostrach, L. R., Prockter, L. M., and Strom, R. G., 2018. Impact Cratering of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 9.