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Uruk Sulcus
Uruk Sulcus is a bright region of grooved terrain on Jupiter's largest moon moon Ganymede. Its length is approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi) and is thought to be younger than the darker material in nearby Galileo Regio and similar regions elsewhere on the moon.
The feature is named after Uruk, a Mesopotamian city that, in myth and literature, was ruled by the legendary Gilgamesh,—the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving literatures in history. The name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in accordance with the theme that surface features and craters on Ganymede should be named after deities, heroes and places from Ancient Middle Eastern mythology, such as Mesopotamian mythology. The sulcus's name was approved by the IAU in 1979.
Uruk Sulcus is located between two dark regions on Ganymede—Marius Regio to the southwest, and Galileo Regio to the northeast. The sulcus forms the boundary between the two.
Uruk Sulcus begins between the vicinity where two other sulci, Nippur Sulcus and Masha Sulcus, meet each other, running from the northwest to the southeast before terminating at the point between the craters Ninsum and Gad.
A handful of craters within the sulcus have been given names by the IAU such as Khensu and El, which are beside each other, and En zu and Mot.
The Uruk quadrangle of Ganymede (designated Jg8) is named after this sulcus. Most of Uruk Sulcus is located within this quadrangle, but officially, a small portion of its eastern part belongs to the Memphis Facula quadrangle (designated Jg7), and a very small portion of its northwesternmost parts crosses over into the Philus quadrangle (designated Jg4).
Like many bright regions on Ganymede, Uruk Sulcus is a bright-terrain feature characterized by multiple sets of ridges and grooves. These younger, sinuous, trending grooves clearly cut across older, darker terrains such as the nearby Galileo and Marius Regiones, apparently disrupting or destroying them in the process. This process, in which older terrain is erased or overlain by newer, fresher terrain through tectonic activity, is widespread across the moon’s surface and plays a major role in shaping its overall appearance. Fresh, clean reflects a lot of sunlight, making them brighter than older regions with ice that have been contaminated by dark materials accumulated over the eons.
Bright terrains on Ganymede such as Uruk Sulcus are analogous to the dark Lunar maria on the Earth's Moon in terms of age, as both are considered the youngest parts of their respective moons’ surfaces. The dark basaltic lava flows that formed the younger regions of the Moon’s surface are instead represented or replaced by bright water ice on Ganymede. Dark terrains on Ganymede, in turn, are analogous to the bright Lunar highlands, which are older than the Lunar maria.
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Uruk Sulcus AI simulator
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Uruk Sulcus
Uruk Sulcus is a bright region of grooved terrain on Jupiter's largest moon moon Ganymede. Its length is approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi) and is thought to be younger than the darker material in nearby Galileo Regio and similar regions elsewhere on the moon.
The feature is named after Uruk, a Mesopotamian city that, in myth and literature, was ruled by the legendary Gilgamesh,—the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest surviving literatures in history. The name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in accordance with the theme that surface features and craters on Ganymede should be named after deities, heroes and places from Ancient Middle Eastern mythology, such as Mesopotamian mythology. The sulcus's name was approved by the IAU in 1979.
Uruk Sulcus is located between two dark regions on Ganymede—Marius Regio to the southwest, and Galileo Regio to the northeast. The sulcus forms the boundary between the two.
Uruk Sulcus begins between the vicinity where two other sulci, Nippur Sulcus and Masha Sulcus, meet each other, running from the northwest to the southeast before terminating at the point between the craters Ninsum and Gad.
A handful of craters within the sulcus have been given names by the IAU such as Khensu and El, which are beside each other, and En zu and Mot.
The Uruk quadrangle of Ganymede (designated Jg8) is named after this sulcus. Most of Uruk Sulcus is located within this quadrangle, but officially, a small portion of its eastern part belongs to the Memphis Facula quadrangle (designated Jg7), and a very small portion of its northwesternmost parts crosses over into the Philus quadrangle (designated Jg4).
Like many bright regions on Ganymede, Uruk Sulcus is a bright-terrain feature characterized by multiple sets of ridges and grooves. These younger, sinuous, trending grooves clearly cut across older, darker terrains such as the nearby Galileo and Marius Regiones, apparently disrupting or destroying them in the process. This process, in which older terrain is erased or overlain by newer, fresher terrain through tectonic activity, is widespread across the moon’s surface and plays a major role in shaping its overall appearance. Fresh, clean reflects a lot of sunlight, making them brighter than older regions with ice that have been contaminated by dark materials accumulated over the eons.
Bright terrains on Ganymede such as Uruk Sulcus are analogous to the dark Lunar maria on the Earth's Moon in terms of age, as both are considered the youngest parts of their respective moons’ surfaces. The dark basaltic lava flows that formed the younger regions of the Moon’s surface are instead represented or replaced by bright water ice on Ganymede. Dark terrains on Ganymede, in turn, are analogous to the bright Lunar highlands, which are older than the Lunar maria.