Planetary Nomenclature

Detailed geologic mapping has revealed the need to change the approved nomenclature for four features on Venus. In quadrangle V-1, Szél-anya Dorsa has been changed to Szél-anya Lineae, and Tezan Dorsa has been changed to Tezan Lineae. In quadrangle V-6, the names Lorelei and Labé Patera have been dropped.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 08:40

The names Noord and Resen have been approved for two small Martian craters. For more information about these features, or about planetary feature names in general, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 06:40

The name Canala has been approved for the Martian crater located at 24.35N, 80.0W. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-10 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 10:18

The name Tigre Valles has been approved for the Martian valley system located at 12S, 37W. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-19 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 07:56

Seven names with the descriptor term lacuna have been approved for use on Titan. For more information, see the list of Titan lacunae and the map of the north polar region of Titan in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 07:48

The names Elihino Corona and Pakoti Corona have been approved for two coronae located in Venus quadrangle V-45. For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 08:42

In October 2010, the coordinates of the named craters in the Martian portion of the nomenclature database were updated from values from the Mars Digital Image Mosaic (MDIM) 2.0 control network to values in the MDIM 2.1 control network. The purpose of this work is to facilitate the identification of named Martian craters. The locations of the craters in the KML and shapefiles will correspond to the crater locations on any map product that was created using the same MDIM 2.1 control network. 

The extents and sizes of the named craters were also updated; these data are approximate and are intended solely to give the user sufficient information to identify the craters and their rough extents. A link to a more precise global crater database by Stuart Robbins will be provided when available.

This new set of coordinates was derived using ArcMap version 9.3.1 and the Mars Digial Image Mosaic 2.1. Some small craters are not resolved well in the MDIM 2.1 image; for these cases, feature coordinates were derived from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) Day IR 100m global mosaic. We would like to thank Stuart Robbins (University of Colorado, Boulder) for sharing a portion of his forthcoming global crater database, which provided a valuable and time-saving starting point for this work.

The Martian portion of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature now defaults to a new set of coordinates; the craters match MDIM 2.1, and the non-crater features are still in the MDIM 2.0 control network. The craters were updated first because they are the smallest features and therefore the mismatch between MDIM 2.0 and MDIM 2.1 was most obvious. Named non-crater features will be updated at a later date. The data set that contains all of the features in the MDIM 2.0 control network is still retained in the gazetteer, but is now considered archival and will not be updated with new names or changes to approved names.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 10:11

The name Firsoff has been approved for the Martian crater located at 2.6N, 9.4W. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-11 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 09:39

In 2010, the coordinates of the named features in the lunar portion of the nomenclature database were updated from values from historical sources to values in the coordinate frame of the Unified Lunar Control Network 2005 (ULCN 2005, see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1367/). The purpose of this work was to facilitate the identification of named lunar features. Dots representing the coordinates of the centers of named features will fall in the centers of the features when displayed on any map product that was created using the same ULCN 2005 control network.

The extents and sizes of the named features were also updated; these data are approximate and are intended solely to give the user sufficient information to identify named features and their rough extents. A link to a more precise crater database (now in preparation) by Dr. Nadine Barlow will be provided when available.

This new set of coordinates was derived using ArcMap version 9.3.1 and the Lunar Orbiter Digital Photographic Mosaic (http://www.mapaplanet.org/explorer/help/data_set.html#moon_lo). Where data gaps exist in the Lunar Orbiter image, the features were aligned with the USGS airbrushed shaded relief mosaic, which was warped to the same control network as the Lunar Orbiter mosaic (ULCN 2005) (see http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2008/pdf/2245.pdf).

The lunar portion of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature web site now defaults to showing feature coordinates in the frame of the ULCN 2005 control network. The original ‘unknown’ source coordinates are still retained in the gazetteer, but this data set is now considered archival and will not be updated with new names or changes to approved names.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 11:27

A large ringed feature on Titan located at 5.0N, 341.2W has been named Paxsi. For more information, see the feature page and the image of Titan in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 07:45

The name Eridania Planitia has been approved for the Martian feature located at 38S, 238W. For more information, see the database information and the maps of MC-28 and MC-29 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 09:05

Ten names with the descriptor term lacus have been approved for use on Titan. For more information, see the list of Titan feature names and the map of the north polar region of Titan in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 10:20

The name Tivoli has been approved for the Martian crater located at 14.3S, 259.18W. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-22 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 11:29

The name Vaduz has been approved for the Martian crater located at 38.25N, 344.29W. For more information, see the list of Martian crater names and the map of MC-5 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 08:49

The name Milna has been approved for the Martian crater located at 23.46S, 12.31W. For more information, see the list of Martian crater names and the map of MC-19 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Posted by Jennifer Blue in Planetary Nomenclature at 08:21