Unlike other Mercurian craters of similar size, Raphael is not multi-ringed.
The crater Flaiano lies just south of the center of Raphael.
There is also a high-albedo area east of Flaiano, that is associated with irregular depressions. The area was named Madu Facula by the IAU in 2023. The depressions are similar to those within Navoi, Lermontov, Scarlatti, and Praxiteles. The depressions resemble those associated with volcanic explosions.
High-albedo area in Raphael crater, named Madu Facula
References
^"Raphael". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
^Denevi, B. W., Ernst, C. M., Prockter, L. M., and Robinson, M. S., 2018. The Geologic History of Mercury. In Mercury: The View After MESSENGER edited by Sean C. Solomon, Larry R. Nittler, and Brian J. Anderson. Cambridge Planetary Science. Chapter 6, Table 6.3.
^Trask, N.J., 1976, History of basin development on Mercury: Conference on Comparisons of Mercury and The Moon: Lunar Science Institute Contribution no. 262, p.36.
