Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.
The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, and not all of Earth gets equal representation. On Venus, nearly all 1,976 recorded features are named after famous women, female first names, heroines, or goddesses. However, 45% of those names are European in origin — and only 2% come from South America.
My capstone project, Naming Venus — which can be accessed at this link: https://koffeeya.github.io/naming-venus/index.html — is an interactive web application that aims to draw attention to the impact of nomenclature. Visitors can explore and filter features, see where they are located on its surface, and dive deeper into the stories behind the names of Venus.
","abstract_html":"<p>Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.</p> <p>The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, and not all of Earth gets equal representation. On Venus, nearly all 1,976 recorded features are named after famous women, female first names, heroines, or goddesses. However, 45% of those names are European in origin — and only 2% come from South America.</p> <p>My capstone project, Naming Venus — which can be accessed at this link: <a href="https://koffeeya.github.io/naming-venus/index.html">https://koffeeya.github.io/naming-venus/index.html</a> — is an interactive web application that aims to draw attention to the impact of nomenclature. Visitors can explore and filter features, see where they are located on its surface, and dive deeper into the stories behind the names of Venus.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Beheraj, Kavya"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Data Analysis & Visualization","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Aucher Serr"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Matthew Gold","Jason Nielsen"],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z","subjects":["Astrophysics and Astronomy","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Folklore","History","Inequality and Stratification","Physical and Environmental Geography","data visualization","mapping","globe","planetary nomenclature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5230","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Aucher Serr"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Matthew Gold","Jason Nielsen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Beheraj, Kavya"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-01-29T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Data Analysis & Visualization"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Astrophysics and Astronomy","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Folklore","History","Inequality and Stratification","Physical and Environmental Geography","data visualization","mapping","globe","planetary nomenclature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5230"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.
The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, and not all of Earth gets equal representation. On Venus, nearly all 1,976 recorded features are named after famous women, female first names, heroines, or goddesses. However, 45% of those names are European in origin — and only 2% come from South America.
My capstone project, Naming Venus — which can be accessed at this link: https://koffeeya.github.io/naming-venus/index.html — is an interactive web application that aims to draw attention to the impact of nomenclature. Visitors can explore and filter features, see where they are located on its surface, and dive deeper into the stories behind the names of Venus.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Naming Venus: An Exploration of Goddesses, Heroines, and Famous Women"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Aucher Serr"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Matthew Gold","Jason Nielsen"],"dc:creator":["Beheraj, Kavya"],"dc:date.available":["2023-01-29T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Humans have been observing and romanticizing Venus for more than 5,000 years. However, mapping its surface has nearly always been impossible, since the planet is shrouded in thick clouds. A breakthrough came just fifty years ago with the invention of radar imaging, leading to the discovery (and naming) of hundreds of new features in a relatively short length of time.
The rapid naming of Venus is a case study on the impact of planetary nomenclature — the process of naming features on other worlds. While the act of naming streamlines communication and humanizes alien landscapes, it is subject to bias, and not all of Earth gets equal representation. On Venus, nearly all 1,976 recorded features are named after famous women, female first names, heroines, or goddesses. However, 45% of those names are European in origin — and only 2% come from South America.
My capstone project, Naming Venus — which can be accessed at this link: https://koffeeya.github.io/naming-venus/index.html — is an interactive web application that aims to draw attention to the impact of nomenclature. Visitors can explore and filter features, see where they are located on its surface, and dive deeper into the stories behind the names of Venus.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5230"],"dc:subject":["Astrophysics and Astronomy","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Folklore","History","Inequality and Stratification","Physical and Environmental Geography","data visualization","mapping","globe","planetary nomenclature"],"dc:title":["Naming Venus: An Exploration of Goddesses, Heroines, and Famous Women"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Data Analysis & Visualization"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z"}