IAU descriptor term
Catenae in the Solar System
Catena is the term planetary geologists use for a chain of craters. 59 named features carry it, across 7 of the 14 mapped worlds, the largest being Tractus Catena on Mars at 911 km.
Where they are
The largest catenae anywhere
Ranked across every mapped world, by catalogued diameter.
1Tractus CatenaMars911 km2Samhain CatenaeCeres715 km3Gipul CatenaCallisto641 km4Tithoniae CatenaeMars562 km5Ophir CatenaeMars509 km6Catena Michelson GIRDThe Moon451 km7Acheron CatenaMars422 km8Uhola CatenaeCeres400 km9Phlegethon CatenaMars400 km10Gomul CatenaCallisto343 km11Coprates CatenaMars302 km12Fimbulthul CatenaCallisto287 km13Terah CatenaGanymede283 km14Artynia CatenaMars279 km15Haystack CatenaMercury274 km16Junina CatenaeCeres263 km17Catena KurchatovThe Moon235 km18Catena Lucretius RNIIThe Moon232 km19Eikin CatenaCallisto223 km20Labeatis CatenaeMars221 km21Catena SumnerThe Moon221 km22Catena AbulfedaThe Moon210 km23Cyane CatenaMars204 km24Catena Leuschner GDLThe Moon200 km25Catena HumboldtThe Moon162 km26Albalonga CatenaVesta162 km27Svol CatenaCallisto161 km28Enki CatenaGanymede160 km29Gunntro CatenaCallisto149 km30Catena GregoryThe Moon148 km
What they are named after
Naming themes are set per world, so one descriptor can draw on very different sources depending on where it sits. Across all 59 catenae, 24 categories appear.
Greek11Norse8Roman5Latin5American4Germany3Soviet2Great Britain2