For over a decade the Cassini probe has been imaging Saturn and its moons. It has made many discoveries, the most recent being a potential underground liquid water ocean beneath Enceladus, a moon of Saturn.
Today a new image of polar scars on Saturn’s moon Mimas has been released. The moon, with a diameter of just 396 kilometres (246 miles) is the smallest astronomical body that is known to be rounded in shape because of self-gravitation.
The photo shows a number of craters, the ‘scars’ of Mimas. In addition to being evidence of past impacts, craters can serve another valuable scientific purpose. By counting the number of craters in an area, scientists can estimate the age of the terrain. Older surfaces, such as on Mimas, will have more craters per unit area than younger surfaces.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) from Mimas. The image scale is 299 meters (982 feet) per pixel.
Today a new image of polar scars on Saturn’s moon Mimas has been released. The moon, with a diameter of just 396 kilometres (246 miles) is the smallest astronomical body that is known to be rounded in shape because of self-gravitation.
The photo shows a number of craters, the ‘scars’ of Mimas. In addition to being evidence of past impacts, craters can serve another valuable scientific purpose. By counting the number of craters in an area, scientists can estimate the age of the terrain. Older surfaces, such as on Mimas, will have more craters per unit area than younger surfaces.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) from Mimas. The image scale is 299 meters (982 feet) per pixel.