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Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Nomenclature News

  • Three New Names Approved for Earth's Moon

    Three new names have been approved in the polar areas of the Moon; the names Hinshelwood and Whipple for the north pole region, and the name Braude for the south pole region. For more information, see the list of Moon crater names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Nine New Ring Gap Names Approved for Saturn's Ring System

    The following names have been approved for gaps in Saturn's ring system: Bond Gap, Dawes Gap, Herschel Gap, Russell Gap, Jeffreys Gap, Kuiper Gap, Laplace Gap, Bessel Gap, and Barnard Gap. See the "Ring and Ring Gap Nomenclature" page in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information.

  • Nineteen New Names Approved for Earth's Moon

    The names Aepinus, Bosch, Erlanger, Fibiger, Florey, Gore, Grignard, Haber, Hevesy, Haskin, Houssay, Ibn Bajja, Kocher, Kuhn, Laveran, Nefed'ev, Svedberg, von Baeyer, and Wapowski have been approved for craters in the north and south polar regions of the Moon. For more information, see the list of Moon crater names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Two New Crater Names Approved for Earth's Moon

    The names Haworth and Lenard have been approved for the lunar craters located at 86.8S, 4W, and 85.2N, 105W, respectively. For more information, see the list of Moon crater names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Division Named in Saturn's Ring System

    The name Roche Division has been approved for the division between Saturn's A and F rings. See the ring nomenclature page in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information.

  • Descriptor Term Mare Maria Approved for use on Titan

    The descriptor term mare/maria has been approved for use on Titan for large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons. The theme for maria on Titan is "Sea creatures from myth and literature." Please see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information.

  • Dwarf Planet 136472 2005 FY9 Named Makemake

    The name Makemake has been approved for the transneptunian dwarf planet (136472) 2005 FY9. Makemake is a creator god of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). For more information, see the page "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers" in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, and the IAU press release.

  • Pluto's Moons Named Hydra and Nix

    Pluto's two newest satellites have been named Hydra and Nix by the International Astronomical Union. For more information, refer to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, particularly the page that describes planet and satellite names and their discoverers.

  • Martian Patera Sizes Adjusted and New Mons and Tholus Names Introduced

    The descriptor term 'patera' is defined in the gazetteer as "an irregular crater, or a complex one with scalloped edges" (see Descriptor Terms). The sizes of seven Martian features (Alba, Apollinaris, Biblis, Hadriaca, Tyrrhena, Ulysses, and Uranius Paterae) have increased over time from the sizes of the central depressions to the sizes of the entire edifices. In order to correct this inconsistency in the database, the sizes of these paterae have been adjusted to correspond only to the central depressions.

    New names for the mons/tholus features have been introduced. The new names are: Alba Mons, Apollinaris Mons, Biblis Tholus, Hadriacus Mons, Tyrrhenus Mons, Ulysses Tholus, and Uranius Mons.

  • Name approved for Saturn's satellite S/2007 S 4

    The name Anthe has been approved for Saturn XLIX. Anthe is one of the Alkyonides, the seven beautiful daughters of the Giant Alkyoneos. Anthe orbits in the region between Methone and Pallene, named for two other Alkyonides. Please visit the Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers page�in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information.