Copland 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 crater ...

on Mercury. Its floor is flooded with volcanic smooth plains material, which could be related to the activity that formed the nearby bright vent known as Nathair Facula.

Naming

Amateur astronomer Ronald Dantowitz and his colleagues Scott Teare and Marek Kozubal used the Mt. Wilson 60-inch telescope in 1998 to observe a very bright feature on this portion of Mercury's surface, and they assumed that the bright feature was an impact crater. Mr. Dantowitz expressed his wish that the crater be named "Copland" (after American composer

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

) once better images of the area were obtained from spacecraft. Surprisingly, '' MESSENGER'' images from Mercury flyby 3 revealed that the small bright feature, seen at the left edge of this image and now known as Nathair Facula, is not an

but more closely resembles a

volcanic vent A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

. No convention for naming volcanic vents on Mercury had yet been adopted, because none were identified prior to ''MESSENGER''s first Mercury flyby. A ''MESSENGER'' team member corresponded with Mr. Dantowitz and suggested that the name Copland be proposed instead for a large crater nearby. He agreed, and 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) approved the name Copland on March 3, 2010.

References

Impact craters on Mercury Crater {{Mercury-planet-stub