[1][2] The crater was named in 1973, based on Mariner 9 images, by an IAU nomenclature committee chaired by Carl Sagan.

[3] There are two models for the age of Stickney, based on the differing possible dates at which Phobos began to orbit around Mars.

[11] It is possible that the area underneath Stickney is much denser and less porous than the rest of Phobos, though models of the moon's interior vary on this.

[12] Stickney has a noticeable lineated texture on its interior walls, caused by landslides from materials falling into the crater.

[13] There is a noticeable blue spectral coloration on the south-western edge of the crater, which is theorized to be a relatively thin layer of rock.