Moody is an

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

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 ...

. Moody features a complex central peak and an annulus of dark material on its outer floor. The area inward of the dark ring appears reddish in enhanced color wide angle camera images acquired by the

MESSENGER ''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoche ...

spacecraft, indicating the presence of material different in composition from that of either the dark material or the crater's immediate surroundings. Dark material has been found associated with other craters on Mercury, including Munch and

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

. Moody is somewhat unusual for having its dark ring confined to the crater floor, rather than forming the crater rim as at Munch and Poe."Moody Sculpts Mercury's Surface"
, MESSENGER, April 14, 2009. The crater was named in November 2008 after Jamaican sculptor and painter

Ronald Moody Ronald Moody (12 August 1900 – 6 February 1984) was a Jamaican-born sculptor, specialising in wood carvings. His work features in collections including the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain in London, as well as the National Gallery ...

. To the northeast of Moody is an unnamed peak ring basin, one of 110 on Mercury.Chapman, C. R., Baker, D. M. H., Barnouin, O. S., Fassett, C. I., Marchie, S., Merline, W. J., Ostrach, L. R., Prockter, L. M., and Strom, R. G., 2018. Impact Cratering of Mercury. In ''Mercury: The View After

'' edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 9.

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Moody crater MESSENGER WAC IGF to RGB.jpg, Approximate color image of Moody (center) Moody crater EN0264069398M.jpg, Note the unusual ring of dark floor material around the central peak Moody crater EN0220505668M EN0220505671M.jpg, Oblique view of Moody crater

References

Impact craters on Mercury {{Mercury-planet-stub