CCSD3ZF0000100000001NJPL3IF0PDSX00000001 PDS_VERSION_ID = PDS3 RECORD_TYPE = FIXED_LENGTH RECORD_BYTES = 80 OBJECT = TEXT PUBLICATION_DATE = 1996-12-16 NOTE = "Venus list of IAU-approved named features." END_OBJECT = TEXT END TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction How names become approved IAU rules and conventions Description of Gazetteer table Appendix 1. Key to Gazetteer fields Appendix 2. List of descriptors (feature types) Appendix 3. Diacritics used in the table INTRODUCTION Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is used to uniquely identify a feature on the surface of a planet or satellite so that the feature can be easily located, described, or discussed. This digital gazetteer file was compiled expressly for the Magellan full-resolution CD-ROMS and contains detailed nomenclature information about the features on Venus named and approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). HOW NAMES BECOME APPROVED Anyone--either scientist or layman--may suggest a name for a planetary feature or ask that a specific feature be named. Candidate names are reviewed by the appropriate Task Group operating under the IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. Names considered appropriate by a Task Group are submitted to the Working Group, which meets once a year. The Working Group transmits its list of recommended names to the yearly meeting of the IAU's Executive Committee, which checks the names for conformity to IAU standards. Successful candidate names are then presented for adoption to the IAU's General Assembly, which meets triennially. A name is not considered to be official, that is, "adopted," until the General Assembly has given its approval. Names recommended by the Working Group, but not yet approved by the Executive Committee, are considered "provisional," and may be used in publications provided that their provisional status is somehow indicated. Suggestions for naming a specific feature or requests that a specific name be used should be sent to the president of the Working Group, to the chairman of the appropriate Task Group, or to the USGS Branch of Astrogeology. IAU RULES AND CONVENTIONS Names adopted by the IAU must follow various rules and conventions established through the years by the Union. Rules for Venus names include the following: 1. Nomenclature is a tool and the first consideration should be to make it simple, clear, and unambiguous. 2. Although there will be some exceptions, duplication of the same name on two or more bodies should be avoided. 3. Solar system nomenclature should be international in its choice of names. 4. No names having political, military or religious significance, or names of modern philosophers may be used. Names of political figures prior to the 19th Century are acceptable. 5. Persons being honored must have been deceased for at least three years before his/her name can be assigned to a feature. Exceptions to this rule were made for living astronauts and cosmonauts because their contributions to space exploration were unique. 6. Diacritical marks are a necessary part of a name, and will be used. In addition to these general rules, the Working Group has formulated a set of naming conventions for each planet and/or satellite. Conventions for Venus are as follows: Chasmata Goddesses of the hunt, Moon goddesses Colles Miscellaneous goddesses Coronae Fertility and earth goddesses Craters Over 20 km, famous women; under 20 km, common female first names Dorsa Sky goddesses Farra Water goddesses Fluctus Miscellaneous goddesses Lineae Goddesses of war Montes Miscellaneous goddesses Paterae Famous women Planitiae Mythological heroines Plana Goddess of prosperity Regiones Giantesses and Titanesses Reticula Nymphs Rupes Goddesses of hearth and home Terrae Goddesses of love Tesserae Goddesses of fate or fortune Tholus Miscellaneous goddesses Valles Word for planet Venus in various world languages; water goddesses for smaller valles DESCRIPTION OF GAZETTEER TABLE The gazetteer (file: [GAZETTER]GAZETTER.TAB) is a table of geographical features for a planet. It contains information about a named feature such as location and origin of feature name. The Gazetteer Table contains one row for each feature named on Venus. The table is formatted so that it may be read directly into many data management systems on various host computers. All fields (columns) are separated by commas. Each record consists of 372 bytes, with a carriage return/line feed sequence in bytes 371 and 372. This allows the table to be treated as a fixed length record file on hosts that support this file type and as a normal text file on other hosts. All gazetteer information is included on all volumes of the Magellan full-resolution collection. The gazetteer table is located in the directory GAZETTER under the name GAZETTER.TAB (file: [GAZETTER]GAZETTER.TAB). The label file is named GAZETTER.LBL under the same directory. The gazetteer has two feature name fields with and without diacritical marks. The first is SEARCH_FEATURE_NAME which is the geographical feature name with all diacritical marks stripped off. This name is stored in upper case only so that it can be used for sorting and search purposes. This field should not be used to designate the name of the feature because it does not contain the diacritical marks. Feature names not containing diacritical marks can often take on a completely different meaning and in some cases the meaning can be deeply offensive. The second field is called DIACRITIC_FEATURE_NAME which is the geographical feature name containing standard diacritical information. Please refer to Appendix 3 for list of gazetteer diacritical marks. A description of the gazetteer follows in Appendix 1. APPENDIX 1 KEY TO GAZETTEER FIELDS NAME DATA DESCRIPTION TYPE ----------------------------------------------------------------- SEARCH_FEATURE_NAME CHAR The geographical feature name with all diacritical marks stripped off. This name is stored in upper case only so that it can be used for sorting and search purposes. DIACRITIC_FEATURE_NAME CHAR The geographical feature name containing standard diacritical information. Refer to Appendix 3 for a discussion of the storage scheme and specification of diacritical marks in this field. CENTER_LATITUDE REAL The center_latitude element specifies center latitude of a named feature. CENTER_LONGITUDE REAL The center_longitude element specifies the center longitude of a named feature. FEATURE_STATUS_TYPE CHAR The IAU approval status of the named feature. Permitted values are 'PROPOSED', 'PROVISIONAL', 'IAU-APPROVED', and 'DROPPED'. FEATURE_TYPE CHAR The IAU feature type descriptor. Refer to Appendix 2 for type names. FEATURE_DESCRIPTION CHAR Short description of the feature name. APPENDIX 2 DESCRIPTOR TERMS (field: FEATURE_TYPE) FEATURE (plural) DESCRIPTION ------- ----------- CHASMA (chasmata) Canyon COLLES Small hill or knob CORONA (coronae) Ovoid-shaped feature CRATER Crater DORSUM (dorsa) Ridge FARRUM (farra) Pancake-shaped structures FLUCTUS Flow terrain LINEA Elongate marking MONS (montes) Mountain PATERA (paterae) Shallow crater; scalloped, complex edge PLANITIA Low plain PLANUM (plana) Plateau or high plain REGIO Region RETICULUM (reticula) Reticular (netlike) pattern RUPES Scarp TERRA Extensive land mass TESSERA (tesserae) Tile; polygonal ground THOLUS (tholi) Small domical mountain or hill VALLIS (valles) Valley APPENDIX 3 DIACRITICS USED IN THE TABLE The word diacritic comes from a Greek word meaning to separate. It refers to the accent marks employed to separate, or distinguish, one form of pronunciation of a vowel or consonant from another. This note is included to familiarize the user with the codes used to represent diacritics found in the table, and the values usually associated with them. In the table, the code for a diacritic is preceded by a backslash and is followed, without a space, by the letter it is modifying. This note is organized as follows: the code is listed first, followed by the name of the accent mark, if applicable; a brief description of the appearance of the diacritic and a short narrative on its usage. \% acute accent; a straight diagonal line extending from upper right to lower left. The acute accent is used in most languages to lengthen a vowel; in some, such as Oscan, to denote an open vowel. The acute is also often used to indicate the stressed syllable; in some transcriptions it indicates a palatalized consonant. \: diaeresis or umlaut; two dots surmounting the letter. In Romance languages and English, the diaeresis is used to indicate that consecutive vowels do not form a dipthong (see below); in modern German and Scandinavian languages, it denotes palatalization of vowels. \^ circumflex; a chevron or inverted 'v' shape, with the apex at the top. Used most often in modern languages to indicate lengthening of a vowel. \~ tilde; a curving or waving line above the letter. The tilde is a form of circumflex. The tilde is used most often in Spanish to form a palatalized n as in the word 'ano', pronounced 'anyo'. It is also used occasionally to indicate nasalized vowels. \- macron; a straight line above the letter. The macron is used almost universally to lengthen a vowel. \u breve; a concave semicircle or 'u' shape surmounting the letter. Originally used in Greek, the breve indicates a short vowel. \o a small circle or 'o' above the letter. Frequently used in Scandinavian languages to indicate a broad 'o'. \ae dipthong or ligature; transcribed as two letters in contact with each other. The dipthong is a combination of vowels that are pronounced together. \, cedilla; a curved line surmounted by a vertical line, placed at the bottom of the letter. The cedilla is used in Spanish and French to denote a dental, or soft, 'c'. In the new Turkish transcription, 'c' cedilla has the value of English 'ch'. In Semitic languages, the cedilla under a consonant indicates that it is emphatic. \v check or inverted circumflex; a 'v' shape above the letter. This accent is used widely in Slavic languages to indicate a palatal articulation, like the consonant sounds in the English words chapter and shoe and the 'zh' sound in pleasure. \. a single dot above the letter. This diacritic denotes various things; in Lithuanian, it indicates a close long vowel. In Sanskrit, when used with 'n', it is a velar sound, as in the English 'sink'; in Irish orthography, it indicates a fricative consonant (see below). \' accent grave; a diagonal line (above the letter) extending from upper left to lower right. The grave accent is used in French, Spanish and Italian to denote open vowels. \_ fricative; a horizontal line through a consonant. A fricative consonant is characterized by a frictional rustling of the breath as it is emitted.