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The name Mnemosyne Regio has been dropped, and the name Metis Regio has been changed to Metis Mons. For more information, see the Venus section of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Rule number 3 on page http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/rules.html has been amended to better describe the circumstances under which planetary features are named.
The following names have been approved for use on Enceladus: Al-Bakbuk, Al-Fakik, Al-Haddar, Al-Kuz, Al-Mustazi, Ayyub, Aziz, Behram, Fitnah, Ghanim, Hassan, Jansha, Khusrau, Marjanah, Omar, Otbah, Rayya, Shakashik, Sharrkan, Shirin, Zumurrud, Cufa Dorsa, Ebony Dorsum, Anbar Fossae, Khorasan Fossa, Alexandria Sulcus, Baghdad Sulcus, Cairo Sulcus, Camphor Sulcus, Cashmere Sulci, Damascus Sulcus, Hamah Sulci, Labtayt Sulci, Láhej Sulci, and Mosul Sulci.
For more information, see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
Detailed geologic mapping has revealed that Furachoga Corona on Venus is a deformation belt rather than a corona. This name, which was approved in 1997, has been dropped and is no longer in use.
There has been an important change in the approval process for planetary feature names; the designation of "provisional nomenclature" is no longer used. As soon as the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) has successfully reviewed a name, it is considered approved and can be used in publications. Immediately after WGPSN approval, names are entered into the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Any objections to these names based on significant, substantive problems must be forwarded in writing or email to the IAU Division III president within three months of the names being published in the gazetteer.
This new policy will allow for much more efficient use of planetary feature names for the scientific community, and it will streamline and simplify the use of planetary feature names in the publication process.
Two new maps of Phobos showing named features have been added to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. One map is a global view in cylindrical projection, and the other shows north and south hemispherical views.
The name Ganges Chaos has been provisionally approved for use on Mars. See the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information about this name and an image showing the feature.
The name Lindgren Patera has been provisionally approved for Venus. This feature can be seen on the image of V-16 from the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
The spelling of the saturnian satellite Erriapo has been changed from the dative to the nominative case: Erriapus.
Eight new names for craters on Phobos have been approved by the IAU. The names are Clustril, Drunlo, Flimnap, Grildrig, Gulliver, Limtoc, Reldresal, and Skyresh. For more information about these feature names, please see the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
