Ishtar Terra (Venus)

Data as of 2026-10-23

What it is

Type
Terra, terrae
IAU definition

Extensive land mass

Diameter
5,610 km, 93 % of the radius of its body
Centre
70.4° N, 27.5° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
Name adopted
1979
Origin of the name

Babylonian goddess of love.

Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.

In Galaxy

See it in Galaxy

Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Ishtar Terra.

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
Arecibo Observatory and National Radio Astronomy Observatory · Radio Telescope / Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope15June 17, 1988May 30, 2020
Magellan · Radar System4,943September 15, 1990March 10, 1992
ESA's Venus Express · Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer1,284May 14, 2006May 15, 2014
MESSENGER at Venus · MERCURY ATMOSPHERIC AND SURFACE COMPOSITION SPECTROMETER6April 15, 2007April 15, 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/2733

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

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