The NASA Cassini spacecraft has taken a detailed image of Saturn’s Death Star moon Mimas. As the craft went closest to the said moon, the Cassini was able to capture a clear image of the celestial body which NASA already released on its official website. The moon was nicknamed with Death Star from the “Star Wars” franchise and the released image proved how much it resembles the famous spacecraft.
On its closest-ever flyby to the moon Mimas, the Cassini spacecraft has captured the image of Saturn’s satellite o Oct. 22, 2016. The picture was released by NASA on its official website on Monday to allow enthusiasts to take a look at the details of the moon. The image showed a clear shot at Mimas’ enormous Herschel Crater which basically got the moon its nickname Saturn’s Death Star Moon which is a galactic super-weapon in the sci-fi movie “Star Wars.” Mimas is said to be the most ominous among Saturn’s numerous moons.
The celestial body is known for its uncanny resemblance to the spacecraft of Darth Vader from “Star Wars.” The Cassini spacecraft caught a fresh look at the Mimas at a distance of 185,000 kilometers (115,000 miles) according to CNET. From the image, it can be observed that shadows cast across the famous Crater of Mimas which provide a visible indication of the crater’s towering walls and central peak sizes.
The crater was reportedly named after the Mimas’s discoverer and astronomer William Herschel. The crater is approximated to stretch at 139 kilometers (86 miles) wide, which is nearly one-third of Mimas’s diameter. The Herschel’s peak on the other hand stands nearly as tall as Earth’s Mount Everest. Mimas is known to measure 246 miles (396 kilometers) in diameter, making it more than twice as large as the appointed size of Death Star in “Star Wars.”
NASA’s Cassini mission is expected to end later this year as the Saturn-studying spacecraft will plunge into the planet’s atmosphere. Scientists still cannot confirm how the mysterious formation on Mimas was created. While Mimas is more popularly known as Saturn’s Death Star moon, a thermal data sent by the Cassini yet earned the celestial body another comparison, this time imagining it like the famous game icon, “Pac-Man.”
