Galileo Cliffs

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The Galileo Cliffs ( 70°46′S68°45′W / 70.767°S 68.750°W / -70.767; -68.750 Coordinates: 70°46′S68°45′W / 70.767°S 68.750°W / -70.767; -68.750 ) are a line of east–west cliffs, 5 nautical miles (9 km) long, standing between Grotto Glacier and Jupiter Glacier, 7 nautical miles (13 km) west of Ablation Point, in eastern Alexander Island, Antarctica. They were mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, and from survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50. They were named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee from association with Jupiter Glacier after Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer who discovered the Galilean moons, the four named satellites of Jupiter [1] (1564-1642).

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

Grotto Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, which flows east into George VI Sound between Belemnite Point and Ablation Point. It is 46 km (29 mi) long, 6 km (4 mi) wide where it emerges from the coastal mountains, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide at its mouth. It was first photographed from the air on 23 November 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth and mapped from these photographs by W.L.G. Joerg. It was roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition and resurveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS). The glacier was so named by the FIDS because a sledge dog was rescued from a grotto-likecrevasse in the glacier.

Jupiter Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 10 nautical miles (19 km) long and 5 nautical miles (9 km) wide at its mouth, which flows east into George VI Sound to the south of Ablation Valley. It was first photographed from the air on November 23, 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth and mapped from these photos by W.L.G. Joerg. It was roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition, and was named for the planet Jupiter by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey following their surveys in 1948 and 1949.

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Apollo Glacier glacier in Antarctica

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Swift Glacier glacier in Antarctica

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Pluto Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 10 nautical miles (18 km) long and 4 nautical miles (7 km) wide, which flows east into George VI Sound to the north of Succession Cliffs. Although Pluto Glacier is not located within nearby Planet Heights, the glacier was named in association with the mountain range along with many other nearby glaciers that are named after planets of the Solar System. The glacier was first photographed from the air on November 23, 1935, by Lincoln Ellsworth and mapped from these photos by W.L.G. Joerg. Roughly surveyed in 1936 by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE). Named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for Pluto, then considered the ninth planet of the Solar System, following Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) surveys in 1948 and 1949.

Earnshaw Glacier is a glacier 10 nautical miles (19 km) long, flowing northward to the east of Norwood Scarp and entering Maitland Glacier to the south of Werner Peak, in the eastern Antarctic Peninsula. It was photographed from the air by the United States Antarctic Service on September 28, 1940. It was surveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in January 1961, and was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after Thomas Earnshaw, an English watchmaker who made innovations leading to the modern marine chronometer.

The Europa Cliffs are a group of interconnected hills and rock ridges on the west side of Jupiter Glacier in eastern Alexander Island, Antarctica. They were mapped from trimetrogon air photography taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, and from survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1948–50. They were named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee from association with Jupiter Glacier after Europa, one of the satellites of the planet Jupiter.

The Ganymede Heights consist of rounded ridges with extensive rock outcrops rising to about 600 m (2,000 ft), between Jupiter Glacier and Ablation Valley on the eastern side of Alexander Island, Antarctica. They were mapped by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys from satellite imagery supplied by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration in cooperation with the US Geological Survey. They were named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee from association with Jupiter Glacier after Ganymede, one of the satellites of the planet Jupiter. The feature also lies close to the Galileo Cliffs, which were named for the moon's discoverer, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). The site lies within Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.147.

Gipps Ice Rise is a roughly elliptical ice rise, 10 nautical miles (19 km) long and bounded by an ice cliff on all sides, lying at the edge of the Larsen Ice Shelf about 35 nautical miles (65 km) northeast of Hearst Island. The feature was discovered by William R. MacDonald of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), December 18, 1966, while on a photographic mapping mission of this area aboard a Super Constellation aircraft crewed by the U.S. Navy VXE-6 Squadron. The ice rise was first mapped from these photos by the USGS. The name was proposed by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for Derek R. Gipps, a Senior Executive Officer with the British Antarctic Survey, 1961–73.

Meridian Glacier is a broad glacier, 9 nautical miles (17 km) long, which flows south along the west side of Godfrey Upland and joins Clarke Glacier between Behaim Peak and Elton Hill, in southern Graham Land, Antarctica. Finn Ronne and Carl R. Eklund of the United States Antarctic Service travelled along this glacier in January 1941. It was photographed from the air by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in November 1947, and was surveyed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in December 1958. The glacier was so named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee because the glacier flows from north to south along the meridian.

Mercury Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 5 nautical miles (9 km) long and 2 nautical miles (4 km) wide, flowing east into George VI Sound between the Waitabit Cliffs and Keystone Cliffs. The glacier was probably first sighted from a distance by Lincoln Ellsworth, who flew near it and photographed segments of this coast on November 23, 1935. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Mercury following rough surveys from George VI Sound by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) in 1948 and 1949. The glacier was mapped in detail from air photos taken by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition, 1947–48, by D. Searle of the FIDS in 1960. Although Mercury Glacier is not located within the Planet Heights, it is named in association with the heights along with many other nearby glaciers named after planets of the Solar System.

Mount Kizaki is a mountain 4 nautical miles (7 km) southwest of Mount Dowie in the Aramis Range, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. It was plotted from Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions air photos, and was named by the Antarctic Names Committee of Australia after Koshiro Kizaki, a glaciologist at Mawson Station in 1966, and later Professor of Geology, Ryukyu University, Okinawa.

Saturn Glacier is a glacier lying in southeast Alexander Island, Antarctica. The glacier is 15 nautical miles (28 km) long and 6 nautical miles (11 km) wide, flowing southeast into the George VI Ice Shelf of George VI Sound north of Corner Cliffs. Although the glacier is not situated within Planet Heights, its name derives from the nearby mountain range along with many other glaciers named after planets of the Solar System. The nunataks at the head of the glacier are also named after solar system features, for example the Enceladus Nunataks named for a moon of Saturn. The coast in this vicinity was first seen from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935, and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. The glacier was surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for the planet Saturn, the sixth planet of the Solar System.

Tierney Peninsula

Tierney Peninsula is an ice-covered peninsula about 14 nautical miles (26 km) long, between Savage Glacier and Morgan Inlet in the east end of Thurston Island. The east extremity of the peninsula is Cape Annawan. These features were discovered on helicopter flights from the USS Burton Island and Glacier of the U.S. Navy Bellingshausen Sea Expedition in February 1960 and named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN). The peninsula was named for J.Q. Tierney, oceanographer aboard the Burton Island on this expedition. The cape was named for the ship Annawan of the United States Expedition of 1829-31, which with the Penguin sailed west from the South Shetland Islands in February 1830, holding a course between 62S and 58S and exploring as far as 103W, northward of this cape.

Venus Glacier is a glacier on the east coast of Alexander Island, Antarctica, 10 nautical miles (18 km) long and 6 nautical miles (11 km) wide at its mouth flowing east into George VI Sound lying between Keystone Cliffs and Triton Point. The coast in this vicinity was first seen from the air by Lincoln Ellsworth on November 23, 1935 and roughly mapped from photos obtained on that flight by W.L.G. Joerg. The glacier was first surveyed in 1949 by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee for the planet Venus, the second planet of the Solar System.

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates  public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document "Galileo Cliffs" (content from the Geographic Names Information System ).

United States Geological Survey Scientific agency of the United States government

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.

Geographic Names Information System geographical database

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer. GNIS was developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to promote the standardization of feature names.