List_of_geological_features_on_Titan

List of geological features on Titan

List of geological features on Titan

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This is a list of named geological features on Saturn's moon Titan. Official names for these features have only been announced since the 2000s, as Titan's surface was virtually unknown before the arrival of the Cassini–Huygens probe.[1][2] Some features were known by informal nicknames beforehand; these names are noted where appropriate. Note that some features with a physical size given by "diameter" may not be circular; then the number refers to the length.[note 1]

Global map of Titan – with IAU labels (August 2016).
Titan − the surface under the haze (December 2018)

Albedo features

Titan – infrared views (2004–2017)

Albedo features on Titan are named after sacred or enchanted places in world mythologies and literature.[3]

Bright albedo features

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Dark albedo features

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Arcūs

Titanean arcūs (arc-shaped features) are named after deities of happiness.[5]

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Colles

Colles are small hills or knobs which are named after characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.[6]

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Craters

Craters on Titan are named after deities of wisdom.[7]

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Faculae

Faculae (bright spots) are named after islands on Earth that are not politically independent.[8] Groups of faculae are named after archipelagos on Earth.

More information Facula, Coordinates ...

Fluctūs

The term "fluctus" refers to flow terrain. Fluctūs on Titan are named after mythological figures associated with beauty.[9]

More information Fluctus, Coordinates ...

Flumina

A flumen is a feature that looks like a channel carved by liquid. Flumina refers to a network of rivers. Some flumina are not found near liquid bodies, which are labelled as "dry valley". They are named after mythical or imaginary rivers.[10]

More information Flumina, Coordinates ...

Freta

A fretum (plural freta) is a strait of liquid connecting two larger liquid bodies. They are named after characters from the Foundation series of science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov.[12]

More information Fretum, Coordinates ...

Insulae

Insulae are islands within Titan's seas. They are named after legendary islands.[14]

More information Insula, Coordinates ...

Labyrinthi

Artist's concept of Sikun Labyrinthus

Labyrinthi (complexes of intersecting valleys or ridges)[15] on Titan are named after planets from the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.[16][17]

More information Labyrinthus, Coordinates ...

Lacunae

Lacunae are dark areas with the appearance of dry lake beds, which are named after intermittent lakes on Earth.[18]

More information Lacunae, Coordinates ...

Lacūs

Lakes of liquid methane on Titan. View from Bolsena Lacus (lower right) to Mackay Lacus (upper left).

Lacūs (plural form of lacus used in Titan geological nomenclature) are hydrocarbon lakes.[19]

Large ringed features

Large ring features are named after deities of wisdom in world mythology.[20]

More information Ring feature, Coordinates ...

Maculae

Titanean maculae (dark spots) are named after deities of happiness, peace, and harmony in world mythology.[21]

More information Macula, Coordinates ...

Maria

Maria (plural of mare) are hydrocarbon seas.[22]

Montes

Mountains are named after mountains from the fictional Middle-Earth created by J.R.R. Tolkien.[23]

More information Mons, Coordinates ...

Paterae

Paterae are caldera or deep-wall craters with a possible volcanic origin. Sotra Patera was formerly named Sotra Facula, which followed the naming theme for Faculae.[24] No nomenclature currently exists for this class of features on Titan.

More information Patera, Coordinates ...

Planitiae

Planitiae (low plains) on Titan are named after planets from the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.[16][25]

Regiones

Regiones (regions distinctly different from their surroundings) are named after deities of peace and happiness.[26]

More information Regio, Coordinates ...

Sinūs

Sinus (bays) within seas or lakes are named after terrestrial bays, coves, fjords or inlets.[27]

More information Name, Coordinates ...

Terrae

Terrae are extensive landmasses. As with the albedo features, they are named after sacred and enchanted locations from cultures across the world.[29]

More information Terra, Coordinates ...

Undae

Undae are dune fields. On Titan they are named after Greek deities of wind.[30]

More information Undae, Coordinates ...

Virgae

Virgae (streaks of colour) are named after rain gods in world mythologies.[31]

More information Virga, Coordinates ...

Informal names for previously unnamed features

Because the exact nature of many surface features remain mysterious, a number of features took time to receive formal names and are known by nicknames. In most cases, indications of brightness and darkness refer not to visible light, but to the infrared images used to look through Titan's obscuring haze.[32]

  • 'The Sickle': a large, dark, sickle-shaped region identified by the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • 'Throat of Kraken': unofficial name for the strait that separates the north and south basins of Kraken Mare, before officially being named Seldon Fretum. It was used in early publications that hypothesized about its role with tidal dissipation and surface currents between the two basins of Kraken Mare.[13][33]

See also

Notes

  1. The USGS web site gives size as a "diameter", but it is actually the length in the longest dimension.
  2. "Dry valleys" apply to rivers that are not directly connected to a known liquid body (Mare or lacus).

References

  1. "Titan Features". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  2. "Titan albedo features". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. "Melanesian Mythology | Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  4. "Titan arcus". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  5. "Titan Colles". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  6. "Titan craters". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. "Titan facula, faculae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. "Titan fluctus". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  9. "Titan river, rivers". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. "Mythological Journey to the Aztec Underworld | WilderUtopia.com". wilderutopia.com. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
  11. "Titan fretum". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  12. Lorenz, Ralph D.; Kirk, Randolph L.; Hayes, Alexander G.; Anderson, Yanhua Z.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Tokano, Tetsuya; Turtle, Elizabeth P.; Malaska, Michael J.; Soderblom, Jason M.; Lucas, Antoine; Karatekin, Özgür (2014-07-15). "A radar map of Titan Seas: Tidal dissipation and ocean mixing through the throat of Kraken". Icarus. 237: 9–15. Bibcode:2014Icar..237....9L. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.04.005. ISSN 0019-1035.
  13. "Titan islands". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. Greeley, Ronald (2013). Introduction to Planetary Geomorphology. Cambridge University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-521-86711-5.
  15. Blue, Jennifer (August 4, 2009). "Hot Topics: New Name, Descriptor Term, and Theme Approved for Use on Titan". USGS Astrogeology. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  16. "Titan Labyrinthi". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  17. "Titan Lacunae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  18. "Titan lakes". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  19. "Titan large ringed feature". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  20. "Titan macula, maculae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  21. "Titan mare, maria". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  22. "Titan Mons, Montes". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  23. "Planetary Names: Patera, paterae: Sotra Patera on Titan". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  24. "Titan Planitiae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  25. "Titan regio, regiones". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  26. "Titan sinus (bays)". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  27. "Titan terra, terrae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  28. "Titan unde, undae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  29. "Titan virga, virgae". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  30. Barnes, Jason W.; Brown, Robert H.; Turtle, Elizabeth P.; McEwen, Alfred S.; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Janssen, Michael; Schaller, Emily L.; Brown, Michael E.; Buratti, Bonnie J.; Sotin, Christophe; Griffith, Caitlin (2005-10-07). "A 5-Micron-Bright Spot on Titan: Evidence for Surface Diversity". Science. 310 (5745): 92–95. Bibcode:2005Sci...310...92B. doi:10.1126/science.1117075. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 16210535. S2CID 34297718.

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