Debussy (crater)
Encyclopedia
Debussy is a rayed impact crater
on Mercury
, which was discovered in 1969 by low resolution ground based radar
observations obtained by the Goldstone Observatory. Later in 1990–2005 it was imaged in more detail by the Arecibo Observatory
. The crater was initially known as the feature A. The bright appearance of rays in the radar images indicates that the crater is geologically young, because fresh and rough surfaces of young impact craters are good scatterers of radio waves.
Debussy is named after Claude Debussy
(1862–1918), one of the most important French composers, who worked in the field of the impressionist music
. It has a diameter of about 85 km, while the rays extend hundreds of kilometers, covering much of the southern hemisphere. The ray system of Debussy is the second most prominent on Mercury after that of Hokusai
.
This crater is a prominent feature in the first photograph ever taken from Mercury orbit, taken on March 29, 2011 by the MESSENGER probe
, pictured at right.
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
on Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, which was discovered in 1969 by low resolution ground based radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
observations obtained by the Goldstone Observatory. Later in 1990–2005 it was imaged in more detail by the Arecibo Observatory
Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope near the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is operated by SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation...
. The crater was initially known as the feature A. The bright appearance of rays in the radar images indicates that the crater is geologically young, because fresh and rough surfaces of young impact craters are good scatterers of radio waves.
Debussy is named after Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
(1862–1918), one of the most important French composers, who worked in the field of the impressionist music
Impressionist music
Impressionism in music was a tendency in European classical music, mainly in France, which appeared in the late nineteenth century and continued into the middle of the twentieth century. Similarly to its precursor in the visual arts, musical impressionism focuses on a suggestion and an atmosphere...
. It has a diameter of about 85 km, while the rays extend hundreds of kilometers, covering much of the southern hemisphere. The ray system of Debussy is the second most prominent on Mercury after that of Hokusai
Hokusai (crater)
Hokusai is a rayed impact crater on Mercury, which was discovered in 1991 by ground based radar observations conducted in the Goldstone Observatory. The crater was initially known as the feature B. Its appearance was so dissimilar to other impact craters that it once was thought to be a shield...
.
This crater is a prominent feature in the first photograph ever taken from Mercury orbit, taken on March 29, 2011 by the MESSENGER probe
MESSENGER
The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging space probe is a robotic NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study the chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field of Mercury...
, pictured at right.