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, and discussed. This gazetteer contains detailed information about all names of topographic and albedo features on planets and satellites (and some planetary ring and ring-gap systems) that theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU) has named and approved from its founding in 1919 through the present time.
The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature supersedes earlier informal print volumes distributed by theU.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1986 asOpen-File Report 84-692 (Masursky, Harold and others, 1986), and in 1994 asU.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2129 (Batson and Russell, editors).
Readers noting errors or omissions are urged to communicate them to theUSGS Astrogeology Science Center, Attention Tenielle Gaither, 2255 N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, or by e-mail:tgaither@usgs.gov