Zmija Facula

MESSENGER NAC image, showing Zmija Facula within the crater near center
Approximate color image centered on Zmija Facula within Rembrandt

Zmija Facula is a bright region on the surface of Mercury, located within an unnamed crater that is itself within the larger Rembrandt basin. It was named by the IAU in June 2020.[1] Zmija is the Serbian word for snake.

To the northwest of the facula, along the northwest rim of the unnamed crater, is a dark spot of low reflectance material (LRM), closely associated with hollows.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Zmija". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. NASA. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ Zhiyong Xiao, Robert G. Strom, David T. Blewett, Paul K. Byrne, Sean C. Solomon, Scott L. Murchie, Ann L. Sprague, Deborah L. Domingue, Jörn Helbert, 2013. Dark spots on Mercury: A distinctive low-reflectance material and its relation to hollows. Journal of Geophysical Research Planets. doi.org/10.1002/jgre.20115