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1353.PR
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1993-05-03
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
FOR RELEASE FRIDAY MARCH 8 AND THEREAFTER
Scientists of the Magellan Project, in association with the
U.S. Geological Survey, are inviting the public to propose names
of notable women for the many impact craters and large volcanic
vents being discovered on Venus by the Magellan spacecraft's
imaging radar.
"We want everyone, especially students, to share in the
adventure of discovery," said Magellan Project Scientist Dr.
Steve Saunders. He said that the impact craters on Venus are some
of the most beautiful features in the solar system. They form
somewhat randomly in time and space when an asteroid or very
large comet collides with Venus' surface.
"The flower-like symmetry of impact craters evidences the
enormous energy of these infrequent events," he said. "A modest
20-mile-diameter crater represents more energy than is contained
in all the arsenals on Earth."
Names sent to the Magellan Project offices at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory will be compiled for the Working Group for
Planetary System Nomenclature, a committee of the International
Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU gives final approval to names
for bodies in the solar system.
Because the IAU meets only every 3 years and its next
meeting is in July, 1991, names newly proposed for Venusian
features will not be considered until the following meeting in1994. But names proposed this year, if accepted as provisional
by the nomenclature committee, may be used on published maps and
in articles, pending final approval by the IAU.
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey's Flagstaff, Ariz.,
field office said they expect names for 4000 or more features on
Venus are likely to be required in the coming decade. Of those
features, at least 900 are expected to be impact craters. Craters
and volcanic calderas, called "paterae", on Venus are named for
notable, actual women.
Indeed, all features on Venus are named for women, with only
three exceptions. They are Maxwell Montes, named years ago for
early radar pioneer James Maxwell, and Alpha Regio and Beta
Regio.
"The mapping of Venus is unique in the history of
cartography," said USGS cartographers Ray Batson and Joel
Russell. "Never has so much territory been discovered and mapped
in so short a period of time."
The process of naming features on Venus began in the 1960s
with early radar images taken from Earth. It continued through
radar mapping spacecraft expeditions of the United States and
Soviet Union.
But, they said, the Magellan mission is resolving features
25 times smaller than those mapped previously and its radar data
will cover an area nearly equivalent to that of the continents
and the ocean floors on Earth.
Many features on Venus, by international agreement, are
named for goddesses of ancient religions and cultures. But
craters and volcanic calderas or vents, the paterae, are named
for actual women.
There are certain stipulations, however. For example, women
must have been deceased for at least three years, and must have
been in some way notable or worthy of the honor.
Names of military or political figures of the 19th and 20th
Centuries are specifically forbidden under rules of the IAU, as
are the names of persons prominent in any of the six main living
religions. Names of a specific national significance also are not
allowed.
When the name is submitted, her birth and death years and a
one or two sentence written rationale for the honor should be
given, along with a reference book citation, if available.
The Magellan Project members asks that submissions be sent
to:
Venus Names
Magellan Project Office
Mail Stop 230-201
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Dr.
Pasadena, Calif. 91109.
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