Chang'e-4 Landing Site Name Approved: Statio Tianhe
15 February 2019The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Statio Tianhe for the landing site where the Chinese spacecraft Chang'e-4 touched town on January 3, 2019, the first-ever landing on the far side of the Moon. Four other names for features near the landing site have also… Read More
Name Approved for Feature on Ceres: Lughnasa Tholus
30 November 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Lughnasa Tholus for a feature on Ceres. For more information, see the Ceres map in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Name Approved for Feature on Mars: Cagli
16 November 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Cagli for a crater on Mars. For more information, see Mars map MC-11 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Name Approved for Feature on Mars: Kalpin
15 November 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Kalpin for a crater on Mars. For more information, see Mars map MC-15 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Four Names Approved on Mercury
19 October 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved names for two craters on Mercury: Carleton and Travers. Two other names were also approved: Meteor Rupes and Kainan Rupes. For more information, see Mercury map H-14 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Lunar Craters Named in Honour of Apollo 8
5 October 2018The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union has today officially approved the naming of two craters on the Moon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission. The names are Anders' Earthrise and 8 Homeward. See the IAU Press Release for… Read More
Name Approved for Jovian Satellite: Valetudo
3 October 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Valetudo for the small prograde Jovian satellite (Jupiter LXII) whose orbit crosses the outer retrograde area. For more information see the Planets page in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Name Approved for Feature on Mercury: Canova
6 September 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved the name Canova for a crater on Mercury. For more information, see Mercury map H-2 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Eight Martian Crater Names Approved
31 August 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature approved the following names for eight craters on Mars: Alofi, Banes, Izamal, Jiji, Kaporo, Sera, Wulai, and Yelapa. For more information, see Mars maps MC-11, MC-12, and MC-20 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Name Approved for Crater on the Moon: Donner M
28 August 2018The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the name Donner M for a small crater on the Moon. For more information, see LAC-116 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
