Matabei is an

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

on Mercury. It has a set of dark

rays Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

. Dark rays are rare on Mercury, but other occurrences have been identified, such as at

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

crater. Mozart crater is interpreted to have excavated dark material from depth during the impact event, creating dark streamers. The dark rays from Matabei may have a similar origin. Matabei was named by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

in 2009 after Japanese painter

Iwasa Matabei Iwasa (written: 岩佐, 岩浅 and 岩朝) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese artist * Janet Iwasa, American cell biologist and animator *, Japanese gravure idol *, Japanese shogi ...

. To the northeast of Matabei is the crater Pigalle. To the south is

Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as a significant ...

, and to the northwest is

Guido d'Arezzo Guido of Arezzo (; – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff notation that had a massive influence on ...

. Matabei crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Exaggerated color view with Matabei at center Matabei crater EN0131773885M.png, Oblique image acquired by

MESSENGER Messenger, Messengers, The Messenger or The Messengers may refer to: People * Courier, a person or company that delivers messages, packages, or mail * Messenger (surname) * Bicycle messenger, a bicyclist who transports packages through cities * M ...

on its second flyby in October 2008

References

Impact craters on Mercury {{Mercury-planet-stub