Arrakis Planitia

Summary

Arrakis Planitia is a planitia (plain) on Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. It is located in Titan's southern hemisphere, between 74 and 80° south and 113–134° east,[1] within the Mezzoramia region.[2]

Arrakis Planitia
Feature typePlanitia
Coordinates78°24′S 117°00′W / 78.4°S 117.0°W / -78.4; -117.0
EponymArrakis

Arrakis Planitia is named after Arrakis, a fictional desert planet that is featured prominently in Frank Herbert's Dune novels.[1] The name follows a convention that Titanean plains are named after planets in Herbert's work.[3][4][5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Arrakis Planitia". Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. April 5, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  2. ^ United States Geological Survey. "Titan with VIMS background and RADAR strips". Accessed 14 Nov, 2012.
  3. ^ Blue, Jennifer (August 4, 2009). "USGS Astrogeology Hot Topics: New Name, Descriptor Term, and Theme Approved for Use on Titan". Astrogeology.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  4. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Titan Planitiae". Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites". Planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved January 3, 2015.