Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature is maintained by the USGS Astrogeology Science Center through cooperation with the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), the globally recognized approving body for planetary names.

For general inquiries regarding planetary nomenclature or the Gazetteer website, please contact Tenielle Gaither by emailing tgaither@usgs.gov.

Browse the Nomenclature News Archive here.

This edition of the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature supersedes earlier informal volumes distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1986 as Open-File Report 84-692 (Masursky, Harold and others, 1986), and in 1994 as U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2129 (Batson and Russell, editors). Named features are depicted on maps of the Moon published first by the U.S. Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) or the Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) and more recently by the USGS; on maps of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus published by the USGS; and on maps of the Moon, Venus, and Mars produced by the U.S.S.R.

Although we have attempted to check the accuracy of all data in this volume, we realize that some errors will remain in a work of this size. Readers noting errors or omissions are urged to communicate them to Tenielle Gaither at the USGS Astrogeology Science Center by email: tgaither@usgs.gov.