Sanai (Mercury)

Data as of 2026-10-23

What it is

Type
Crater, craters
IAU definition

A circular depression

Diameter
490 km, 20 % of the radius of its body
Centre
13.37° S, 353.01° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
Name adopted
June 23, 2014
Origin of the name

Sanai of Ghazna, Abul Majd bin Majdud bin Adam; Persian poet (d. c. 1131).

Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.

In Galaxy

See it in Galaxy

Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Sanai.

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 Camera3,463January 1, 2000January 11, 2015
MESSENGER · Mercury Dual Imaging System5January 1, 2000November 1, 2014
MESSENGER · Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer2,183August 13, 2004April 30, 2015
MESSENGER · Mercury Dual Imaging System - Narrow Angle Camera2,779October 6, 2008March 4, 2015
MESSENGER · Mercury Laser Altimeter9May 1, 2011May 2, 2011

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/15246

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

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