Altair Rupes (Mercury)

Data as of 2026-10-23

What it is

Type
Rupes, rupēs
IAU definition

Scarp

Diameter
895.6 km, 37 % of the radius of its body
Centre
70.49° S, 173.51° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
Name adopted
April 29, 2021
Origin of the name

Mexican; oceanographic vessel used for academic and federal research in the Pacific (2000s).

Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.

In Galaxy

See it in Galaxy

Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Altair Rupes.

Observed by

Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.

Observed by
Mission and instrumentProductsFirstLast
MESSENGER · Mercury Dual Imaging System - Wide Angle Camera25,694January 1, 2000March 16, 2015
MESSENGER · Mercury Dual Imaging System13January 1, 2000November 1, 2014
MESSENGER · Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer5,132August 13, 2004April 30, 2015
MESSENGER · Mercury Dual Imaging System - Narrow Angle Camera3,400January 14, 2008November 6, 2014

Sources

International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15986

Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

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