Amaral is a crater on the

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

Mercury. With its smooth floor, surrounding ejecta, and small

secondary crater Secondary craters are impact craters formed by the ejecta that was thrown out of a larger crater. They sometimes form radial crater chains. In addition, secondary craters are often seen as clusters or rays surrounding primary craters. The study of ...

s, it appears noticeably younger than the heavily cratered surface around it. Along with a smooth crater floor, Amaral also has a central peak. Bright material on this peak is of particular interest as it appears to have an unusual color. In color-enhanced images, the central peak of Amaral appears as a bright

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

color in striking contrast to the otherwise

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

tones of surface material nearby. The different color of the central peak likely indicates rocks with different chemical composition from those on the neighboring surface. Amaral is the second-largest crater of the Kuiperian system on Mercury, at 105 km diameter, after Bartók at 118 km. It is followed by

Tyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

crater.Denevi, B. W., Ernst, C. M., Prockter, L. M., and Robinson, M. S., 2018. The Geologic History of Mercury. In ''Mercury: The View After MESSENGER'' edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.4. The crater

Heaney Heaney is a surname of Irish origin. It is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ''Ó hEignigh'', thought to be based on the Gaelic a personal name meaning "horseman". It was mistakenly thought to derive from Éan, Gaelic for Bird. Versions of it ar ...

is to the southeast of Amaral. Amaral crater EN0251518331M.jpg, High resolution view of the interior, from MESSENGER Amaral crater EN0236873588M.jpg, Oblique view at a low sun angle Amaral crater EN0264042540M EN0264071220M.jpg, Mosaic showing most of the crater at a high sun angle. Note the bright central peak complex. Amaral crater Heaney crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Regional approximate color view with Amaral at left, showing its bright, extensive ray system.

References

Impact craters on Mercury {{Mercury-planet-stub