Features on the planet Venus are named for women and goddesses.
Colles are small hills or knobs, named after sea goddesses.
Coronae are oval features of uncertain origin, named for fertility and earth goddesses.
Planitiae, low plains, are mythological heroines.
Tholi, small dome-like hills, are named for (miscellaneous) goddesses.
Valles, valleys, are named according to their length: if more than 400 km, after the word for the planet in various world languages, otherwise after river goddesses.[2][3]
The innermost moon of Jupiter, Io is a world emblazoned with the reds, yellows, whites and blacks of sulphur chemistry and the scars of active volcanism. Its features have a wide variety of naming themes: gods, goddesses and heroes associated with fire, sun, thunder, and volcanoes; mythical blacksmiths; people associated with the myth of Io; or people from Dante's Inferno. Names may also be derived from a nearby, more prominent feature; this is a situation where the same name could be used for both a volcano and an adjacent valley.[2]
Montes, mountains, can be named in the Dantean or Greek categories, or for associated features.
Paterae, volcanic pits with flat floors and steep walls, are named from these first two groups, and include names from their associated eruptive center.
Valles, valleys, are named for their associated feature.[2][3]
Rata Mons and Rata Patera: Rātā, a "sun hero" in the citation, is a grandson of Tāwhaki.[16][17]
The largest moon of Saturn is a world in its own right: Titan has a dense atmosphere and complex weather system, with liquid-carved river networks and sizable seas.
Maria, seas, are large expanses of dark materials thought to be liquid hydrocarbons; they are named for sea creatures from myth and literature. Virgae, streaks or stripes of colour, are named for rain gods and goddesses.[2][3]
Punga Mare: son of the sea god Tangaroa; the father of sharks and lizards.[21]
Uanui Virgae: rain god; child of the storm god Tāwhirimātea.[22]
Neptune's largest moon is thought to be a captured Kuiper belt object, an interloper from further out in the Solar System. Triton's features are given aquatic names, excluding Roman and Greek references.[2]
^ abc"Descriptor Terms (Feature Types)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN). Retrieved 3 September 2010.
^"Apakura Tholus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Hinemoa Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Mahuea Tholus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Pani Corona". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Paoro Tholi". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Tawera Vallis". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Urutonga Colles". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^"Whatitiri Corona". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 15 September 2010.