Alver is a crater on

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. It has a diameter of 151.49 kilometers. Its name was adopted by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

(IAU) on March 15, 2013. Alver is named for the Estonian poet

Betti Alver Elisabet "Betti" Alver ( in Jõgeva – 19 June 1989 in Tartu), was one of Estonia's most notable poets. She was among the first generation to be educated in schools of an independent Estonia. She went to grammar school in Tartu. Writing S ...

. Alver is one of 110 peak ring basins on Mercury. It lies in southern Utaridi Planitia. On the western side of the peak ring is a ''dark spot'' of low reflectance material (LRM), closely associated with hollows.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
/ref> Utaridi Planitia Alver crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Exaggerated color image with Alver at bottom center Alver crater MESSENGER mosaic.jpg, Detail of Alver crater

References

Impact craters on Mercury {{Mercury-planet-stub