Planetary cartography
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Planetary cartography, or cartography of extraterrestrial objects (CEO), is the
cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
of solid objects outside of the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. Planetary maps can show any spatially mapped characteristic (such as
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
, geology, and
geophysical Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
properties) for extraterrestrial surfaces.


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*Albedo map shows the measured difference in
surface reflectivity The reflectance of the surface of a material is its effectiveness in reflecting radiant energy. It is the fraction of incident electromagnetic power that is reflected at the boundary. Reflectance is a component of the response of the electronic ...
from the surface of a
celestial body An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical object, physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''bod ...
. *Atlas is a special collection of images of a celestial body surface. The images may be from either ground-based or spacecraft sources. Usually a single scale or set of scales is used throughout the atlas.
Atlases An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
can have specific themes (e.g., photographic, specialized to certain problems, thematic, etc.). *Complex (integrated) atlas of groups of celestial bodies is a systematic collection of maps of a group of celestial bodies (e.g., the terrestrial planets,
satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
of the gas-giant planets, etc.), giving a capability for the analysis of the collected information through
comparative planetology Comparative planetary science or comparative planetology is a branch of space science and planetary science in which different natural processes and systems are studied by their effects and phenomena on and between multiple bodies. The planetary ...
. *Geochemical map shows the distribution of
chemical elements A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elements cannot be broken down into simpler sub ...
or minerals on the surface of a celestial body. *Geologic map is a graphic representation generalizing the geological history of the area covered by the map. A
geologic map A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...
includes information on the structure, distribution, age, and genetic type of rocks on the surface of the celestial body. *Geologic/morphologic map shows the spatial distribution of geologic,
geomorphologic Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...
, and
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
features on a celestial body. *Geomorphic map is a graphic representation of the distribution of surface morphological types portrayed in the
landforms A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, m ...
on a planetary body. Geomorphic maps do not attempt to infer the geologic history of the rocks themselves, but rather the processes that have generated the present surface features. *Geophysical map shows a variety of geophysical information in a spatial representation (such as
gravimetric Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest. Units of measurement G ...
, seismic, and
magnetic anomaly In geophysics, a magnetic anomaly is a local variation in the Earth's magnetic field resulting from variations in the chemistry or magnetism of the rocks. Mapping of variation over an area is valuable in detecting structures obscured by overlying ...
maps). *Globe is cartographic representation of the surface of a planetary body on a three-dimensional shape (which can be spherical or non-spherical, such as a tri-axial
ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface;  that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...
), preserving the geometric similarity of both locations and outlines features.
Globes A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...
of spherical planets and irregular objects (e.g., the Martian moon Phobos, the asteroid
Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...
) have been produced from imaging and
remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
data obtained from a variety of sources. *Hypsometric map shows the macro-relief features on a
planetary surface A planetary surface is where the solid or liquid material of certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space. Planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass, including terrestrial planets (including ...
(for maps produced in Russia). The relief is represented by means of contours or
isolines A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a plane section of the three-dimensional graph ...
(to show areas at the same relative elevation), and color-coded contour intervals. In other countries, this term can also describe the distribution of elevations on the extraterrestrial object. *Landing site map in planetary cartography is a graphic representation of the region surrounding the site where a spacecraft came to rest on a planetary surface (generally shown at large scale). *Map in planetary cartography is a generalized image of the surface of an extraterrestrial solid body (excluding the Earth), that indicates the location of objects projected mathematically according to the adopted
coordinate system In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of the coordinates is sig ...
used for the projection. Symbols can represent any subject, phenomena or process chosen by the cartographer to be illustrated on the map (a
legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
defining all symbols should be included to aid the map user). Maps of extraterrestrial territories represent all
solar system The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
bodies, with the exception of the Earth; they can be portrayed in a variety of forms, such as electronic (e.g., digital), conventional (printed), multilingual,
orthophoto An orthophoto, orthophotograph, orthoimage or orthoimagery is an aerial photograph or satellite imagery geometrically corrected ("orthorectified") such that the scale is uniform: the photo or image follows a given map projection. Unlike an ...
, drawing (e.g., shaded relief), outline,
topographic Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...
(contoured), and thematic. *Outline map in planetary cartography is a map representing relief with the help of outlines and special symbols. These maps are used as base-maps for thematic and schematic mapping, which allows the user to link visually a represented attribute with a relief feature on the surface. *Physical properties map is a maps of various measured attributes of the extraterrestrial surface, such as
albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...
(see albedo, in this section), thermal anomalies (e.g., the distribution of hotspots on the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon), and
polarimetric Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves. Typically polarimetry is done on electromagnetic waves that have traveled through or ha ...
measurements. *Synoptic map in planetary cartography is a graphic representation of attributes (e.g., pressure, temperature, etc.) that describe the weather above a planetary surface (e.g., a map of weather on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
). *Tectonic map in planetary cartography is a graphic representation of structural elements related to the tectonic history of the upper crust of a planetary body. The different structural areas and their separate elements (e.g., faults and folds) are shown by various symbols; when combined with a geologic map, data regarding the age and type of rocks comprising the structural elements are given, along with their development in time. *Thematic map in planetary cartography is a map showing the spatial representation of physical properties for a planetary surface (e.g., hypsometric, geophysical, geologic-morphologic, and geochemical maps). *Terrain map in planetary cartography is a graphic representation of the distribution of boundaries between mapped regions on the planetary body, showing the presence or absence of characteristic details of a surface (e.g.,
impact craters An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
, hills, faults, lava flows, aeolian cover, etc.). Such maps are usually produced by data obtained by remote sensing. See also geologic/morphologic map, photogeologic map.


See also

*
Areography (geography of Mars) Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the dis ...
* Cartography of the Moon *
Planetary coordinate system A planetary coordinate system is a generalization of the geographic coordinate system and the geocentric coordinate system for planets other than Earth. Similar coordinate systems are defined for other solid celestial bodies, such as in the ''selen ...


References

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Further reading

*Hargitai H. (ed.) (2019) Planetary Cartography and GIS. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Cham


External links


ICA Commission on Planetary CartographyDigital Museum of Planetary MappingInternational Catalog of Planetary Maps


Cartographic products



(The
Planetary Cartography Planetary cartography, or cartography of extraterrestrial objects (CEO), is the cartography of solid objects outside of the Earth. Planetary maps can show any spatially mapped characteristic (such as topography, geology, and geophysical propertie ...
Working Group at the Cosmic Materials Space Reserarch Group of
Eötvös Loránd University Eötvös Loránd University ( hu, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, ELTE) is a Hungarian public research university based in Budapest. Founded in 1635, ELTE is one of the largest and most prestigious public higher education institutions in Hung ...
) Cartography Planetary science