[meteorite-list] International Astronomical Union Approves Ten New Names for Mercury Craters

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:53:24 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201306211553.r5LFrOfT004370_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/news_room/details.php?id=241

MESSENGER Mission News
June 21, 2013

International Astronomical Union Approves Ten New Names for Mercury Craters

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) -- the arbiter of planetary
and satellite nomenclature since its inception in 1919 -- recently
approved a proposal from the MESSENGER Science Team to assign names to
10 impact craters on Mercury. In keeping with the established naming
theme for craters on Mercury, all of the newly designated features are
named after famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors or other
contributors to the humanities. The newly named craters are

    * Bechet, for Sidney Bechet (1897-1959), an American jazz
      saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. Bechet was one of the
      first important soloists in jazz and was perhaps the first notable
      jazz saxophonist.

    * Damer, for Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828), an English sculptor.
      Damer produced busts in Neoclassical style, and her subjects were
      drawn largely from friends and colleagues in Whig circles,
      including Lady Melbourne and King George III.

    * David, for Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), an influential
      French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the
      preeminent painter of his era.

    * Duccio, for Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1318), an Italian
      artist, active in the city of Siena in Tuscany, where he was born,
      in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

    * Erte, for Romain de Tirtoff (1892-1990), a Russian-born French
      artist and designer known by the pseudonym Ert??, the French
      pronunciation of his initials, R.T. Ert?? flourished in a variety
      of fields, including fashion, jewelry, graphic arts, costume, and
      set design for film, theater, and opera, and interior decor.

    * Larrocha, for Alicia de Larrocha (1923-2009), a Spanish pianist
      considered one of great piano legends of the 20th century.
      Larrocha won multiple Grammy Awards, a Prince of Asturias Award
      for the Arts, and in 1995 she became the first Spanish artist to
      win the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
      Organization Prize.

    * Laxness, for Halldor Kiljan Laxness (1902-1998), a
      twentieth-century Icelandic writer of poetry, newspaper articles,
      plays, travelogues, short stories, and novels. Laxness received
      the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature and is the only Icelandic Nobel
      laureate.

    * Monk, for Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982), an American jazz
      pianist and composer, considered one of the giants of American
      music. Monk made numerous contributions to the standard jazz
      repertoire, including "'Round Midnight" and "Straight, No Chaser."

    * Rikyu, for Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), a Japanese Tea Master who
      was the first to emphasize several key aspects of the ceremony,
      including rustic simplicity, directness of approach, and honesty
      of self.

    * Varma, for Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906), an Indian artist
      recognized for his depiction of scenes from the two great epics of
      India: the Mahabharata and Ramayana. His paintings are considered
      to be among the best examples of the fusion of Indian traditions
      with the techniques of European academic art.

These ten newly named craters join 104 other craters named since the
MESSENGER spacecraft's first Mercury flyby in January 2008. More
information about the names of features on Mercury and the other objects
in the Solar System can be found at the U.S. Geological Survey's
planetary nomenclature web site:q

http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/index.html.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and
Ranging) is a NASA-sponsored scientific investigation of the planet
Mercury and the first space mission designed to orbit the planet
and entered orbit about Mercury on March 17, 2011 (March 18, 2011 UTC),
to begin a yearlong study of its target planet. MESSENGER's extended
mission began on March 18, 2012, and ended one year later. A possible
second extended mission is currently under evaluation by NASA. Dr. Sean
C. Solomon, the Director of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory, leads the mission as Principal Investigator. The Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory built and operates the
MESSENGER spacecraft and manages this Discovery-class mission for NASA.
Received on Fri 21 Jun 2013 11:53:24 AM PDT