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Posted on May 31, 2021
APOD: 2021 May 31 - Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
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Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater." Discovered by William Herschel in 1789, Mimas is only 396 km (~247 mi) in diameter, and consists mainly of water ice and some rock. Its surface area is only slightly larger than the State of California. The impact crater (Herschel) is 80 miles in diameter. Based on data gathered from Cassini in 2010, scientists believe that a larger impact would have completely destroyed Mimas. Looks like the Death Star from Star Wars, doesn't it?
APOD: 2021 May 31 - Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
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Posted 3 y ago
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Mimas: The Real-Life Death Star
One of Saturn's moons looks a lot like an infamous planet-destroying battle station from science fiction, but astronomers have some very real theories about ...
Excellent Post this morning, Maj William W. 'Bill' Price!!! It is quite amazing that Mimas has such a perfectly round shape, like a sphere, when its gravity is so relatively low, yet supports the crater features from impacts...
I did find a short video that I believe is a great adjunct to this APOD and I provide it for all to grasp more knowledge about this very small Saturnian Moon... (This morning I forgot to add in the video link - MY BAD - so I have added it and am refreshing my response...)
Link: https://youtu.be/PLD2uNwqh6M
Kerry
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I did find a short video that I believe is a great adjunct to this APOD and I provide it for all to grasp more knowledge about this very small Saturnian Moon... (This morning I forgot to add in the video link - MY BAD - so I have added it and am refreshing my response...)
Link: https://youtu.be/PLD2uNwqh6M
Kerry
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Saturn by Stevie Wonder and Mike Sembello
Belated thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Monday, May 31, 2021 entitled "Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater."
Since the LORD God s in control of all creation including what happens to the moons of Saturn, I am not really bothered at all by craters on Mimas :-)
Image: Mimas - Small Moon with a Big Crater - Image Credit & Copyright - NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Cassini
APOD Background
"Explanation: Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have destroyed Mimas entirely. The huge crater, named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel, spans about 130 kilometers and is featured here. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. The featured image was taken during the closest-ever flyby of the robot spacecraft Cassini past Mimas in 2010 while in orbit around Saturn.
Thank you my space-exploration advocate friend Sgt (Join to see) for mentioning me.
Stevie Wonder - Saturn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3KpUO6t9qQ
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D., Sgt Albert Castro SSG Samuel Kermon PO2 (Join to see) SSG Michael NollSSG Franklin Briant CPL Douglas Chrysler MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SMSgt Tom Burns LTC (Join to see) MSgt James Clark-Rosa SGT (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Cpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr SSG Paul Headlee SGT Denny Espinosa
Since the LORD God s in control of all creation including what happens to the moons of Saturn, I am not really bothered at all by craters on Mimas :-)
Image: Mimas - Small Moon with a Big Crater - Image Credit & Copyright - NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Cassini
APOD Background
"Explanation: Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have destroyed Mimas entirely. The huge crater, named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel, spans about 130 kilometers and is featured here. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. The featured image was taken during the closest-ever flyby of the robot spacecraft Cassini past Mimas in 2010 while in orbit around Saturn.
Thank you my space-exploration advocate friend Sgt (Join to see) for mentioning me.
Stevie Wonder - Saturn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3KpUO6t9qQ
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D., Sgt Albert Castro SSG Samuel Kermon PO2 (Join to see) SSG Michael NollSSG Franklin Briant CPL Douglas Chrysler MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SMSgt Tom Burns LTC (Join to see) MSgt James Clark-Rosa SGT (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Cpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr SSG Paul Headlee SGT Denny Espinosa
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LTC Stephen F.
Stream Saturn Blues here: http://smarturl.it/saturnbluesDirected & Edited by Mel Ertler.Filmed by Alex & John Ertler.An Ertler Producc.Follow Mel:Spotify: ht...
Mel Ertler - Saturn Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YsU-mg8tw4
FYI CSM Bruce TregoSPC Woody BullardCpl (Join to see) SFC William Farrell SPC Michael TerrellSSG Paul Headlee SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSPC Randy Zimmerman Sgt Vance Bonds Cpl Vic Burk PO1 H Gene Lawrence Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SGT Steve McFarland Cpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr Lt Col Charlie Brown CSM Chuck Stafford Sgt John H. SSG Samuel Kermon SGT Denny Espinosa A1C Riley Sanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YsU-mg8tw4
FYI CSM Bruce TregoSPC Woody BullardCpl (Join to see) SFC William Farrell SPC Michael TerrellSSG Paul Headlee SPC Michael Duricko, Ph.DSPC Randy Zimmerman Sgt Vance Bonds Cpl Vic Burk PO1 H Gene Lawrence Maj William W. 'Bill' Price SGT Steve McFarland Cpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr Lt Col Charlie Brown CSM Chuck Stafford Sgt John H. SSG Samuel Kermon SGT Denny Espinosa A1C Riley Sanders
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Death star was the first thing I thought of. If it is mostly ice, what do you think the Ice is made of, certainly it could not be water ice?
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Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
That's what Cassini indicated when it flew by in 2010. Density was only ~1.15g/cm3 (slightly more dense than water, so some rock is present). Hence the term "dirty snowball."
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