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Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. Since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have given names to the surface features they have discerned, especially on the Moon and Mars. To found an authority on planetary nomenclature, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) was organized in 1919 to designate and standardize names for features on Solar System bodies.
This is a directory of lists of geological features on planets excepting Earth, moons and asteroids ordered by increasing distance from the Sun.
Rupes is the Latin word for 'cliff'. It is used in planetary geology to refer to escarpments on other worlds. As of January 2013, the IAU has named 62 such features in the Solar System, on Mercury (17), Venus (7), the Moon (8), Mars (23), the asteroids Vesta (2) and Lutetia (2), and Uranus's satellites Miranda (2) and Titania (1).
Sobkou Planitia is a large basin on the planet Mercury. It is named after the ancient Egyptian messenger deity Sobkou. He was associated by the Egyptians with the planet Mercury.
Beethoven is a crater at latitude 20°S, longitude 124°W on Mercury. It is 630 km in diameter and was named after Ludwig van Beethoven. It is the eleventh largest named impact crater in the Solar System and the third largest on Mercury.
The Eminescu quadrangle (H-9) is one of fifteen quadrangles on Mercury. It runs from 216 to 288° longitude and from -25 to 25° latitude. Named after the Eminescu crater, it was mapped in detail for the first time after MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury in 2011. It had not been mapped prior to that point because it was one of the six quadrangles that was not illuminated when Mariner 10 made its flybys in 1974 and 1975. These six quadrangles continued to be known by their albedo feature names, with this one known as the Solitudo Criophori quadrangle.
Discovery Rupes is an escarpment on Mercury, approximately 267 kilometers (166 mi) long, located at latitude 58.52 N and longitude 53.25 W. It was formed by a thrust fault, thought to have occurred due to the shrinkage of the planet's core as it cooled over time. The scarp cuts through Duccio crater.
Rupes Tenuis is a Martian north polar scarp. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars. Its name was officially approved by IAU in 1988. It extends from latitude 74.94°N to 82.2°N and from longitude 242.12°E to 300.77°E. Its centre is located at latitude 81.6°N longitude 85.47°W. It marks the outer perimeter of Planum Boreum from longitude 242.12°E to 300.77°E, and it is formed by the eastern extension of the Olympia Cavi, a series of local troughs and depressions, which become longer and deeper as they merge to create the Rupes Tenuis scarp formation. The scarp is located to the west of Chasma Boreale, at the base of Planum Boreum, and its height varies from a few hundred metres to a maximum of approximately 1000 metres.
Villa-Lobos is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on September 25, 2015. Villa-Lobos is named for the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Seuss is a crater on Mercury. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2012. It is named for the American author and cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.
References
- ↑ "Arquipelago Rupes". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. IAU/NASA/USGS . Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- Batson R.M., Russell J.F. (1994), Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 2129
