Planet | Mercury |
---|---|
Coordinates | 14°50′N 112°33′W / 14.83°N 112.55°W |
Quadrangle | Beethoven |
Diameter | 89 km (55 mi) |
Eponym | Mikhail Glinka |
Glinka is a pit-floored crater on Mercury, which was discovered in 1974 by Mariner 10 spacecraft. [1] It was named by the IAU in 2008, after Russian composer Mikhail Glinka. [2]
Its floor is covered by the smooth plain material and displays a kidney-shaped collapse feature, which is also called a central pit. The size of the pit, which was first noticed in MESSENGER images obtained in January 2008, is 20 × 8.5 km. [1] It is surrounded by a bright pyroclastic deposit. Such a feature may have resulted from collapse of a magma chamber underlying the central part of the crater. The collapse feature is an analog of Earth's volcanic calderas. [1]