Fonueha Planitia (Venus)

Data as of 2026-10-23

What it is

Type
Planitia, planitiae
IAU definition

Low plain

Diameter
3,000 km, 50 % of the radius of its body
Centre
44° S, 48° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
Name adopted
1997
Origin of the name

Samoan folktale blind old woman who became the shark.

Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.

In Galaxy

See it in Galaxy

Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Fonueha Planitia.

Observed by

Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.

Observed by
Mission and instrumentProductsFirstLast
Magellan · Radar System1,204October 17, 1990March 18, 1992
ESA's Venus Express · Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer7,251May 15, 2006September 26, 2014
MESSENGER at Venus · Mercury Dual Imaging System - Wide Angle Camera18June 5, 2007June 6, 2007
MESSENGER at Venus · Mercury Dual Imaging System - Narrow Angle Camera49June 6, 2007June 6, 2007

Sources

International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1993

Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

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