Mercury crater named after John Lennon

The International Astronomical Union has named a crater on Mercury after John Lennon.


The late former-Beatle was given the honour along with nine other individuals, who were noted for their contributions to art and culture, the Huffington Post reported.

They join 114 other craters named since Nasa's Messenger Spacecraft first flew past the planet closest to our Sun in 2008. The craters are named not only because it is "fun", but because it makes identifying specific areas much less laborious than just using coordinates.

All of the craters on Mercury are named after "deceased artists, musicians, painters, and authors who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their field and have been recognized as art historically significant figures for more than 50 years".