Vonnegut (crater)
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 MESSENGER image | |
| Planet | Mercury |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 82°43′N 249°55′W / 82.72°N 249.91°W |
| Quadrangle | Borealis |
| Diameter | 26.61 km (16.53 mi) |
| Eponym | Kurt Vonnegut |
Vonnegut is a crater on Mercury, near the north pole. It was named by the IAU in 2017 after the American author Kurt Vonnegut.[1] Part of Vonnegut's 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan takes place on Mercury. The crater was referred to as e5 in scientific literature prior to naming.[2]
S band radar data from the Arecibo Observatory collected between 1999 and 2005 indicates a radar-bright area along the southern interior of Vonnegut, which is probably indicative of a water ice deposit, and lies within the permanently shadowed part of the crater.[3][4][5] 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.[2]
Vonnegut is north of the slightly larger Yoshikawa crater.
