Bashō is a
crater
Crater may refer to:
Landforms
*Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet
*Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
on
Mercury named after
Matsuo Bashō
born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest m ...
, a 17th-century Japanese writer.
Bashō crater is only in diameter, but is a prominent feature on Mercury's surface, due to its bright rays. Photographs from NASA's ''
Mariner 10
''Mariner 10'' was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets.
''Mariner 10'' was launched approximately ...
'' and ''
MESSENGER
''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoch ...
'' spacecraft show a curious halo of dark material around the crater.
Bashō is one of the largest craters of the
Kuiperian system on Mercury. The largest is
Bartók 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
''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoch ...
'' edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.4.
Basho crater 0167015.jpg, Mariner 10
''Mariner 10'' was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets.
''Mariner 10'' was launched approximately ...
image
Basho crater EN0108830184M.jpg, Image from MESSENGER's first flyby in January 2008
Bashō crater EN0260649832M.jpg, MESSENGER image
Tolstoj crater and Basho crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Exaggerated color image by MESSENGER, with Tolstoj at top and Bashō in lower left
Bashō crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Similar image centered on Bashō
Bashō crater EN0249337919M.jpg, Oblique view from MESSENGER
References
Impact craters on Mercury
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