Space
Space Collision Or Illusion: NASA Captures Mimas And Saturn's Rings In New Stunning Photo
Leon Lamb
First Posted: Dec 27, 2016 06:01 AM EST
Looks like one of Saturn's 150 moons is about to crash the planet's icy rings.
Fox News reported that the newly released image from the Cassini mission shows Saturn's moon, Mimas, about to get sliced by its rings.
Although it looks like the extremely cratered moon is heading to a collision course, Mimas was, in fact, 28,000 miles away from the sixth planet of the solar system when the photo was taken.
"There is a strong connection between the icy moon and Saturn's rings, though," according to the description written by NASA officials in the image released on Dec. 19. "Gravity links them together and shapes the way they both move."
Mimas, which looks like a Death Star from the movie Star Wars, measures 246 miles in diameter. According to NASA, it triggers gravitational ripples in Saturn's rings, which would split the planet's A and B rings. This disruptive phenomenon is called the Cassini Division.
The Cassini Mission is a joint project of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Italian Space Agency (ASI). It was launched in 1997 and is expected to land on Saturn in September 2017.
Previous photos captured Mimas looking way tinier than Saturn's rings, which were another optical illusion. Scientists say that these icy disks only weigh a fraction of the moon's mass -- considering its almost 250-mile width.
Cassini is scheduled to capture a more detailed shot of Saturn's rings in April 2017 and is expected to estimate the weight of the disks thereafter.
According to NASA's statement, "Cassini is expected to determine the mass of Saturn's rings to within just a few hundredths of Mimas' mass as the mission winds down by tracking radio signals from the spacecraft as it flies close to the rings."
The team has started its mission's grand finale this month.
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NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
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First Posted: Dec 27, 2016 06:01 AM EST
Looks like one of Saturn's 150 moons is about to crash the planet's icy rings.
Fox News reported that the newly released image from the Cassini mission shows Saturn's moon, Mimas, about to get sliced by its rings.
Although it looks like the extremely cratered moon is heading to a collision course, Mimas was, in fact, 28,000 miles away from the sixth planet of the solar system when the photo was taken.
"There is a strong connection between the icy moon and Saturn's rings, though," according to the description written by NASA officials in the image released on Dec. 19. "Gravity links them together and shapes the way they both move."
Mimas, which looks like a Death Star from the movie Star Wars, measures 246 miles in diameter. According to NASA, it triggers gravitational ripples in Saturn's rings, which would split the planet's A and B rings. This disruptive phenomenon is called the Cassini Division.
The Cassini Mission is a joint project of NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Italian Space Agency (ASI). It was launched in 1997 and is expected to land on Saturn in September 2017.
Previous photos captured Mimas looking way tinier than Saturn's rings, which were another optical illusion. Scientists say that these icy disks only weigh a fraction of the moon's mass -- considering its almost 250-mile width.
Cassini is scheduled to capture a more detailed shot of Saturn's rings in April 2017 and is expected to estimate the weight of the disks thereafter.
According to NASA's statement, "Cassini is expected to determine the mass of Saturn's rings to within just a few hundredths of Mimas' mass as the mission winds down by tracking radio signals from the spacecraft as it flies close to the rings."
The team has started its mission's grand finale this month.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone