Comments on: Where in the Universe is Castalia Macula?

By: Patteroast

Patteroast — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:43:41 +0000

I’m a little disappointed that only Mercury and Mars will show you a map for each feature.

I’ve had the gazetteer bookmarked for years and years, even if I wasn’t aware of the map-of-each-feature pages on those two planets. I’ve been fascinated enough just with the lists of features, the explanations of what categories of names each body uses, and especially the global maps with feature names, which ARE available for all the major bodies.

What keeps me coming back maybe once a week for years is the fact that they have a news section that tells you when surface features or even moons get new names. I created the articles on Wikipedia for a lot of the tiny irregular outer moons of the gas giants, and the USGS was one of my main sources.

By: Checkmate1

Checkmate1 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:56:27 +0000

To those who are not yet familiar with it, may I recommend:
“Star Names – Their Lore and Meaning” by Richard Hinckley Allen.
Originally published in 1899 or so, it has not gone out of date..I have worn out three of them over the years, and may yet need to buy it again. About 600 pages of small print,it makes for great bedtime reading.
There’s an amazing amount of info in there.

By: Magrathea

Magrathea — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:10:57 +0000

And there I thought that Macula/Maculae were exclusive to Triton, learn something new every day, even if it makes it a bit more complicated. Macula/Maculae are MAINLY Triton features now.

By: NGC3314

NGC3314 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:01:22 +0000

A longtime local favorite Martian name – Northport. Apparently inserted by a University of Alabama grad who went on to work at the USGS, not only does it refer to the Alabama town, but it’s a crater cut by apparent flood channels. The town of Northport is on the low floodplain side of the Black Warrior river, still seeing occasional flooding no matter how the Corps of engineers manages the river, so it fits.

By: Ken Coenen

Ken Coenen — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:20:53 +0000

Eight features with “Newton” in the name found on the moon. No wonder Gingrich was obsessed!

By: MRUTTY

MRUTTY — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:26:01 +0000

Oh look, Goofy’s portrait on Mars.

By: Richie

Richie — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:42:47 +0000

Well, when NASA finds a spare $100 million or so, they can set up the Solar MMO, and get people traipsing about landscapes all over the solar system. And hey look, no need to come up with generic fantasy locations like Orgrimmar, Crossroads, or Ascalon City – all the places have already been named.

“Yes Astronaut lolwut, we need you to head to Chryse Chaos and collect five water samples and kill twenty microbe infestations”.

Would be one heck of an outreach. I’d play it. And if you implemented player housing, then the above commenter musings of huts in the Baba-Jaga Chasma could be veritable mansions there.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:20:20 +0000

“Pictures At An Exhibition” – were you an Emerson, Lake and Palmer fan, BA?

By: Crudely Wrott

Crudely Wrott — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:16:01 +0000

I like Gameshowhost’s suggestion above. A hut would be necessary, of course.

I’m just wondering how we can get bird legs big enough and able to sustain a load under Martian conditions.

Perhaps there is a youngster out there somewhere who will grow up with aerospace engineering skills and who is also an accomplished pianist. That one might know. =)

By: Dave Jerrard

Dave Jerrard — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:18:49 +0000

Reminded me of this TED talk, where Charles Fleischer makes fun of some of the names for places where no-one lives…

http://blog.ted.com/2010/01/15/all_things_are/