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Zumurrud (crater)
Encyclopedia
Zumurrud is a large impact crater
on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Saturn
's moon Enceladus
. Zumurrud was first observed in Cassini images during that mission's March 2005 flyby of Enceladus. It is located at 21.8° South Latitude
, 178.2° West Longitude
, and is 19 kilometers across. Images taken by Cassini during its March and July 2005 flybys of Enceladus revealed a great deal about the geology of this impact crater. Since formation, Zumurrud has been modified by viscous relaxation (forming an updomed floor like those seen in similar-sized craters on Enceladus, like Shahrazad
), tectonic fracturing
along the crater's rim, forming canyons hundreds of meters deep, and subsequent cratering, like the small crater along Zumurrud's western rim. In addition, brightness variations can be seen along the eastern crater wall, suggesting variations in water ice grain size.
Zumurrud is named after the female character in the tale "Ali Shar and Zumurrud" from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
.
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's moon Enceladus
Enceladus (moon)
Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. It was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Until the two Voyager spacecraft passed near it in the early 1980s very little was known about this small moon besides the identification of water ice on its surface...
. Zumurrud was first observed in Cassini images during that mission's March 2005 flyby of Enceladus. It is located at 21.8° South Latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
, 178.2° West Longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
, and is 19 kilometers across. Images taken by Cassini during its March and July 2005 flybys of Enceladus revealed a great deal about the geology of this impact crater. Since formation, Zumurrud has been modified by viscous relaxation (forming an updomed floor like those seen in similar-sized craters on Enceladus, like Shahrazad
Shahrazad (crater)
Shahrazad is a large crater on Saturn's moon Enceladus first discovered by the Voyager spacecraft. It is located at 48.2° North Latitude, 195.1° West Longitude and is approximately 18.5 kilometers across...
), tectonic fracturing
along the crater's rim, forming canyons hundreds of meters deep, and subsequent cratering, like the small crater along Zumurrud's western rim. In addition, brightness variations can be seen along the eastern crater wall, suggesting variations in water ice grain size.
Zumurrud is named after the female character in the tale "Ali Shar and Zumurrud" from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
.