Saturn Moon Looks Like ‘Death Star’

George Lucas' Star Wars universe spawned movies and television franchise. However, what many did not notice until now is that the iconic Death Star is actually something that looks like it is straight out of the futuristic universe.

Fox News reported that NASA recently released an image of Saturn's icy moon, Tethys, which was met by the Twitterverse of comparisons to the Death Star. Only one of the many satellites orbiting the ringed giant, the image was taken by the Cassini spacecraft last year, nearly 20 years after being launched to drift in space.

Tethys' massive crater, Odysseus, shows the crater and its central peaks (named Scheria Montes) resembling an eyeball staring into the great beyond. These impact craters are actually common on moons in the Solar System. However, on Saturn's satellite, it is a massive one with 660 miles in diameter.

The view of Tethys with its leading side "gazing" north was snapped by a narrow-angle camera from a distance of about 230,000 miles last Nov. 10. However, Space.com noted that it was not until this Monday, Jan. 23, that the agency released the image.

Despite the likeness of Tethys to the Star Wars icon, Scott Edgington, deputy project scientist for the mission to Saturn, said that it is unlikely for George Lucas to have found an inspiration for the Death Star's likeness to Thethys. He insisted, "We first saw that moon up close and personal with the Voyager flybys. Those took place well after the release of the Star Wars movie."

Still, he admitted that he was not surprised to find the nostalgia behind its uncanny appearance surprising. He, too, watched the franchise as a child, and the moon invoked thoughts of his childhood. As it is with every sci-fi fan, he was also asked whether the star looked more like an eyeball or a death star.

Laughingly, he anwered. "I think it looks like a Death Star."