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Planetary Nomenclature
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. How names are approved by the IAU When images are first obtained of the surface of a planet or satellite, a theme for naming features is chosen and a few important features are named, usually by members of the appropriate IAU task group (a commonly accepted planet-naming group). Later, as higher resolution images and maps become available, additional features are named at the request of investigators mapping or describing specific surfaces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young protostar orbited by a protoplanetary disk. Planets grow in this disk by the gradual accumulation of material driven by gravity, a process called accretion. The Solar System has at least eight planets: the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, and the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These planets each rotate around an axis tilted with respect to its orbital pole. All of them possess an atmosphere, although that of Mercury is tenuous, and some share such features as ice caps, seasons, volcanism, hurricanes, tectonics, and even hydrology. Apart from Venus and Mars, the Solar System planets generate magnetic fields, and all except Venus and Mercury have natural satellites. The giant planets ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triton (moon)
Triton is the largest natural satellite of the planet Neptune, and was the first Neptunian moon to be discovered, on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, an orbit in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. Because of its retrograde orbit and composition similar to Pluto, Triton is thought to have been a dwarf planet, captured from the Kuiper belt. At in diameter, it is the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System, the only satellite of Neptune massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, the second-largest planetary moon in relation to its primary (after Earth's Moon), and larger than Pluto. Triton is one of the few moons in the Solar System known to be geologically active (the others being Jupiter's Io and Europa, and Saturn's Enceladus and Titan). As a consequence, its surface is relatively young, with few obvious impact craters. Intricate cryovolcanic and tec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miranda (moon)
Miranda, also designated Uranus V, is the smallest and innermost of Uranus's five round satellites. It was discovered by Gerard Kuiper on 16 February 1948 at McDonald Observatory in Texas, and named after Miranda from William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Like the other large moons of Uranus, Miranda orbits close to its planet's equatorial plane. Because Uranus orbits the Sun on its side, Miranda's orbit is perpendicular to the ecliptic and shares Uranus' extreme seasonal cycle. At just 470 km in diameter, Miranda is one of the smallest closely observed objects in the Solar System that might be in hydrostatic equilibrium (spherical under its own gravity). The only close-up images of Miranda are from the ''Voyager 2'' probe, which made observations of Miranda during its Uranus flyby in January 1986. During the flyby, Miranda's southern hemisphere pointed towards the Sun, so only that part was studied. Miranda probably formed from an accretion disc that surrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corona (planetary Geology)
In planetary geology, a corona (plural: coronae ) is an oval-shaped feature. Coronae appear on both the planet Venus and Uranus's moon Miranda and may be formed by upwellings of warm material below the surface. Coronae on Venus The geodynamic surface of Venus is dominated by patterns of basaltic volcanism, and by compressional and extensional tectonic deformation, such as the highly deformed tesserae terrain and the concentrically-fractured coronae. On Venus, coronae are large (typically several hundred kilometres across), crown-like, volcanic features. Coronae were first identified in 1983, when the radar imaging equipment aboard the Venera 15 and Venera 16 spacecraft produced higher-resolution images of some features previously thought to be impact craters. It is believed that coronae are formed when plumes of rising hot material in the mantle push the crust upwards into a dome shape, which then collapses in the centre as the molten magma cools and leaks out at the sides, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collis (planetary Nomenclature)
Collis (plural: colles , from the Latin word for "hill") is a small hill or knob on a celestial body. The term is used in planetary nomenclature: it is a part of international proper names of such features. Like other generic terms, it is capitalized and stands after the proper name (for example, '' Bilbo Colles''; the only exception is '' Colles Nili'' on Mars). As of 2015, only groups of the hills have names, and the term is used only in plural. Like the other terms of planetary nomenclature, this word describes only external view of the features, but not their origin or geological structure. So, it is used for hills of any origin. Names of bigger (especially domical) uplands usually contain the term ''Tholus'' ("dome"), and the names of still bigger mountains – the term ''Mons'' ("mountain"). Peculiar round mountains, which are found on Venus, get names with the term '' Farrum''. The term ''Collis'' was introduced into planetary nomenclature in 1982, on XVIIIth General As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eos Chasma
Eos Chasma is a chasma in the southern part of the Valles Marineris canyon system of the Coprates quadrangle and the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangles of the planet Mars. Eos Chasma’s western floor is mainly composed of an etched massive material composed of either volcanic or eolian deposits later eroded by the Martian wind. The eastern end of the Eos chasma has a large area of streamlined bars and longitudinal striations. This is interpreted to be stream-carved plateau deposits and material transported and deposited by flowing fluid. Ganges Chasma is an offshoot of Eos Chasma. MRO discovered sulfate, hydrated sulfate, and iron oxides in Eos Chasma. According to an analysis by Vicky Hamilton of the University of Hawaii, Eos Chasma may be the source of the ALH84001 meteorite, which some believe to be evidence of past life on Mars.Birthplace of famous Mars meteorite pinpointed". New Scientist. Retrieved March 18, 2006. However, the analysis was not conclusive, in part because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chasma
In planetary nomenclature, a chasma (''plural'': chasmata ) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2), Dione (8) and Rhea (5), Uranus's satellites Ariel (7), Titania (2) and Oberon (1) and Pluto's satellite Charon (3). An example is Eos Chasma on Mars. Mars Below are images of some of the major chasmata of Mars. The map shows their relative locations. Interior layered deposits and sulfate Parts of the floor of Candor Chasma contains layered deposits that have been termed interior layered deposits (ILD's). These layers may have formed when the whole area was a giant lake. Some places on Mars contain hydrated sulfate deposits. Sulfate formation involves the presence of water. The European Space Agency's Mars Express found evidence of perhaps epsomite and kieserite. Scientists want to visit these areas with robotic rovers. Laye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iani Chaos
Iani Chaos is a region of chaos terrain at the south end of the outflow channel Ares Vallis, of the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars, centered at approximately ~342°E, 2°S. This is the source region of Ares Vallis. The chaotic terrain is widely believed to have formed via the removal of subsurface water or ice, resulting in flooding at the surface, and the formation of Ares Vallis. Within Iani Chaos, deposited stratigraphically above the chaotic terrain, are smooth, low-slope, intermediate-to-light-toned deposits that are rich in a hydrated mineral that is most likely gypsum as well as hematite. Mapbeer.jpg, Map showing location of Arsinoes Chaos (far left), Iani Chaos, Aureum Chaos, Margaritifer Chaos, and other nearby features Mars Science Laboratory Several sites in the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle have been proposed as areas to send NASA's next major Mars rover, the Mars Science Lab. Among the top 33 landing sites was Iani Chaos. A pic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaos Terrain
In astrogeology, chaos terrain, or chaotic terrain, is a planetary surface area where features such as ridges, cracks, and plains appear jumbled and enmeshed with one another. Chaos terrain is a notable feature of the planets Mars and Mercury, Jupiter's moon Europa, and the dwarf planet Pluto. In scientific nomenclature, "chaos" is used as a component of proper nouns (e.g., " Aureum Chaos" on Mars). On Mars Wikichaosmap.jpg, Tography map of Oxia Palus region of Mars showing the location of a number of chaos regions Mapbeer.jpg, Map showing location of Arsinoes Chaos (far left), Iani Chaos, Aureum Chaos, Margaritifer Chaos, and other nearby features Image:Margaritifer Sinus Map.JPG, Map of Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle with major features labeled. Aureum Chaos is near the top of the map. Image:Canyons and Mesas of Aureum Chaos in Oxia Palus.JPG, Huge canyons in Aureum Chaos, as seen by THEMIS. Gullies are rare at this latitude. Image from Margaritifer Sinus quadran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavus (planetary Nomenclature)
Cavus may refer to: * Albus Cavus, an art collective in New Jersey, USA * Pes cavus, a human foot type * Çavuş Çavuş, also anglicized Chaush and Chiaus (from tr, çavuş / , "messenger"), Arabic 'shawish, شاويش', (from Old Turkic ''Çabuş'' or ''Çawuş'', "person who gives order, person who yells") was an Ottoman title used for two separate soldi ..., an Ottoman title and position {{disambiguation, surname Turkish-language surnames ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enki Catena
Enki Catena (''Enki'' from the Assyro-Babylonian principal water god of the Apsu, and ''catena'' from Latin meaning "chain") is a crater chain on Ganymede measuring long. This chain of 13 craters was probably formed by a comet which was pulled into pieces by Jupiter's gravity as it passed too close to the planet. Soon after this breakup, the 13 fragments crashed onto Ganymede in rapid succession. The Enki craters formed across the sharp boundary between areas of bright terrain and dark terrain, delimited by a thin trough running diagonally across the center of this image. The ejecta deposit surrounding the craters appears very bright on the bright terrain. Even though all the craters formed nearly simultaneously, it is difficult to discern any ejecta Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic materials (tephra) that came out of a volcanic exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crater Chain
A crater chain is a line of craters along the surface of an astronomical body. The descriptor term for crater chains is catena , plural catenae (Latin for "chain"), as specified by the International Astronomical Union's rules on planetary nomenclature. Many examples of such chains are thought to have been formed by the impact of a body that was broken up by tidal forces into a string of smaller objects following roughly the same orbit. An example of such a tidally disrupted body that was observed prior to its impact on Jupiter is Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. During the Voyager observations of the Jupiter system, planetary scientists identified 13 crater chains on Callisto and three on Ganymede (except those formed by secondary craters). Later some of these chains turned out to be secondary or tectonic features, but some other chains were discovered. As of 1996, 8 primary chains on Callisto and 3 on Ganymede were confirmed. Other cases, such as many of those on Mars, represent c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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