Cunningham is a young crater on the western floor of the Caloris Basin, on Mercury. It is surrounded by a bright ray system.
 MESSENGER NAC image focused on Cunningham | |
| Feature type | Central-peak impact crater |
|---|---|
| Location | Raditladi quadrangle, Mercury |
| Coordinates | 30°25′N 202°56′W / 30.41°N 202.93°W |
| Diameter | 37 km (23 mi) |
| Eponym | Imogen Cunningham |
The crater's name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2008, shortly after its discovery on the first flyby of MESSENGER. It is named for the American photographer Imogen Cunningham.[1]
A confirmed dark spot is present in Cunningham crater.[2] This dark spot is associated with hollows.
References
edit- ^ "Cunningham". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ Zhiyong Xiao, Robert G. Strom, David T. Blewett, Paul K. Byrne, Sean C. Solomon, Scott L. Murchie, Ann L. Sprague, Deborah L. Domingue, Jörn Helbert, 2013. Dark spots on Mercury: A distinctive low-reflectance material and its relation to hollows. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. doi.org/10.1002/jgre.20115
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