Posted on Jan 12, 2025
APOD: 2025 January 12 – Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
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Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for January 12, 2025.
This image from the APOD archives was captured by the Cassini spacecraft during a flyby of Mimas in 2010. The 'big crater' is named Herschel in honor of Sir William Herschel, who discovered Mimas in 1789. It measures 86 miles across, its walls are approximately 3 miles high, and its central peak rises approximately 5 miles above the crater floor.
Given the size of the crater relative to Mimas itself (the moon is only 246 miles in diameter), many are amazed that Mimas wasn't blown apart by the impact which formed the crater. If there was a similarly sized crater on Earth (relative to the diameter of our home planet), it would be over 2,500 miles in diameter (wider than Canada!) and have walls 120 miles high.
This image from the APOD archives was captured by the Cassini spacecraft during a flyby of Mimas in 2010. The 'big crater' is named Herschel in honor of Sir William Herschel, who discovered Mimas in 1789. It measures 86 miles across, its walls are approximately 3 miles high, and its central peak rises approximately 5 miles above the crater floor.
Given the size of the crater relative to Mimas itself (the moon is only 246 miles in diameter), many are amazed that Mimas wasn't blown apart by the impact which formed the crater. If there was a similarly sized crater on Earth (relative to the diameter of our home planet), it would be over 2,500 miles in diameter (wider than Canada!) and have walls 120 miles high.
APOD: 2025 January 12 – Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
NASA
Space
Science
Photography
Astronomy
Edited 1 y ago
Posted 1 y ago
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Spent many nights with my telescope in Montana as a young boy (1950s). Never got views this good!
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Wow....that's incredible...is it still spinning from it? Samples...we need samples...data...
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
SPC (Join to see) We might get some useful data from Dragonfly. I am not aware of any planned mission to Mimas.
https://www.nasa.gov/emd/nepa/dragonflys-journey-to-titan/
https://www.nasa.gov/emd/nepa/dragonflys-journey-to-titan/
Dragonfly's Journey to Titan - NASA
NASA’s newest mission to explore the solar system delivers an 8-bladed rotorcraft to visit Saturn’s largest and richly organic moon,Titan. Slated for
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