Equiano is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 102 kilometers. Its name was adopted by the

International Astronomical Union 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 1976. Equiano is named for the abolitionist writer

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in present day southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in ...

, who lived from 1750 to 1797. The crater was first imaged by

Mariner 10 ''Mariner 10'' was an American Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury (planet), Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets. ''Marin ...

in 1974. Equiano has patches of bright material near its central peak, and these may be hollows. To the northeast of Equiano is Mofolo crater, and to the northwest is

Neumann Neumann () is a German language, German surname, with its origins in the pre-7th-century (Old English) word ''wikt:neowe, neowe'' meaning "new", with ''wikt:mann, mann'', meaning man. The English form of the name is Newman. Von Neumann is a varian ...

crater. Equiano crater EN0238529760M.jpg, Higher resolution view showing the hollows around the central peak Neumann Equiano Mofolo MESSENGER NAC mosaic.jpg,

(left foreground), Equiano (right), and Mofolo (upper left) craters. The crater in upper right is unnamed.

References

Impact craters on Mercury {{Mercury-planet-stub