Diameter 18 km | Discoverer Cassini | |
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Naming Ayyub; Damascus merchant | ||
Ayyub is an impact crater in the northern hemisphere of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Ayyub was first observed in Cassini images during that mission's February 2005 flyby of Enceladus. It is located at 38.4° North Latitude, 295.7° West Longitude and is 18 kilometers across. The topography of the impact crater appears very subdued, suggesting that the crater has undergone significant viscous relaxation since its formation. Tectonics has also affected this crater, by influencing the final, polygonal shape of the crater as well disrupting the southeastern and northwestern margins of the crater following its formation.
Ayyub is named after a Damascus merchant, father of Ghanim and Fitnah, in the "Tale of Ghanim Bin Ayyub, the Distraught, the Thrall O’ Love" in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. Incidentally, craters named Ghanim and Fitnah are found near Ayyub.