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Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Nomenclature News

  • Martian Crater Named Majuro

    The name Majuro has been approved for the Martian crater located at 33.3S, 84.3E. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-28 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Martian Crater Named Firsoff

    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.

  • Martian Crater Named Dogana

    The name Dogana has been approved for the Martian crater located at 10.0S, 306.35E. For more information, see the database information and the map of MC-18 in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Martian Crater Named Canala

    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.

  • Martian Crater Coordinates now in MDIM 2.1

    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.

  • Mars Feature Coordinates Updated to MDIM 2.1

    The Mars portion of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature now defaults to a new set of coordinates; all of the Martian features now match the Mars Digital Image Mosaic (MDIM) 2.1 control network.

    In late 2010, the coordinates of the named craters in the Martian portion of the nomenclature database were updated from values from the MDIM 2.0 control network to values in the MDIM 2.1 control network. In the spring of 2011, the remaining Martian features (i.e., all the named features that are not craters) were also updated to MDIM 2.1. Since the MDIM 2.1 network was tied to local Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) generated from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data, this implies the features now match MOLA data products and other products in that reference frame. The GIS download 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.

    The extents and sizes of the named features were also updated, and vectors describing feature boundaries were drawn; these data are approximate and are intended solely to give the user sufficient information to identify named features and their rough extents.

    This work was accomplished using ArcMap version 9.3.1 and theMars Digital Image Mosaic 2.1. Some features are not resolved well in the 2.1 mosaic; 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 global crater database, which provided a valuable and time-saving starting point for the crater portion of this work.

  • Lunar Coordinates Now Available in ULCN

    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.

  • Longitude Defining Crater on Lutetia Named Lauriacum

    The name Lauriacum has been approved for the small crater that defines zero degrees longitude on asteroid (21) Lutetia. For more information, see the Lutetia page in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

  • Large Ringed Feature on Titan Named Paxsi

    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.

  • Fourteen More Names Approved for Surface Features on Vesta

    The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved names for seven craters, two fossae, one tholus, one terra, one planitia, and two rupēs on Vesta. For details, see thelist of Vesta feature names and the image of Vesta in theGazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Coordinates for these names are in a system used by the Dawn Team.