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Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Nomenclature News

  • Plutos 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.

  • Sixteen Names Approved for Craters on Mercury

    The following names have been approved for craters on Mercury: Abedin, Benoit, Berkel, Calvino, de Graft, Derain, Eastman, Gibran, Hemingway, Hodgkins, Izquierdo, Kunisada, Lange, Matabei, Munk芍csy, and To Ngoc Van. For more information, see the list of Mercury crater names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Seventeen New Names Approved for Craters on Enceladus

    The following new names have been approved by the IAU for craters on Enceladus: Ajib, Bahman, Harun, Hisham, Ishak, Ja'afar, Kamar, Kasim, Ma'aruf, Masrur, Morgiana, Mustafa, Parwez, Perizadah, Sabur, Yunan, and Zaynab. For more information, see the list of Enceladus crater names and the Enceladus image showing locations of named features.

  • Three New Names Approved for Features on Mars

    The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved the names Aeolis Mons, Aeolis Palus, and Robert Sharp. For more information, see the maps of MC-22 and MC-23 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • New Name Descriptor Term and Theme Approved for Use on Titan

    The descripter term planitia has been approved for use on Titan with the theme "Names of planets from the Dune series of science fiction novels by American author Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986)." The first planitia name on Titan has also been approved; Chusuk Planitia is located at 5.0S, 23.5W. For more information, see the list of Titan planitia names and the Titan images showing named features in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Nine New Ring Gap Names Approved for Saturns 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.

  • Five New Names Approved for Titan Surface Features

    The following five names have been approved for use on Titan: Ara Fluctus, Leilah Fluctus, Rohe Fluctus, Winia Fluctus, and Polelya Macula. See the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information and an image that shows the locations of these features.

  • Four New Crater Names Approved for use on Mars

    The names Corinto, Naryn, Thila, and Wiltz have been approved for four craters on Mars. Please see the list of Martian crater names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature for more information.

  • Six New Names Approved for Venus Surface Features

    Six new names have been approved for use on Venus: Fulgora Dorsa, Heloha Fluctus, Sarasvati Mons, Akka Tholus, Eirene Tholus, and Yansa Tholus. All six of these features can be seen on the Venus map V-1. For more information, see the list of Venus feature names in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • New Name Chryse Chaos and New Boundaries for Simud Valles on Mars

    The IAU has approved a new name for a chaos feature, and defined new coordinates for a valles on Mars.

    The name Chryse Chaos has been approved for the chaos feature located at 10.4N, 36.7W. The name Simud Vallis has been changed to the plural form of the descriptor term, Simud Valles, and the coordinates of the feature have been changed. Please see the listings in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature and the map of Mars quadrangle MC-11 for details.