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Mimas - Large Impact Structure

May 23, 2000
This NASA Voyager 1 picture of Mimas shows a large impact structure at 110 W Long., located on that face of the moon which leads Mimas in its orbit. The feature, about 130 kilometers in diameter, is more than one-quarter the diameter of the entire moon.

This Voyager 1 picture of Mimas shows a large impact structure at 110 W Long., located on that face of the moon which leads Mimas in its orbit. The feature, about 130 kilometers in diameter (80 miles), is more than one-quarter the diameter of the entire moon. This is a particularly interesting feature in view of its large diameter compared with the size of the satellite, and may have the largest crater diameter/satellite diameter ratio in the solar system. The crater has a raised rim and central peak, typical of large impact structures on terrestrial planets. Additional smaller craters, 15-45 kilometers in diameter, can be seen scattered across the surface, particularly along the terminator. This photo was taken on November 12 at 5:05 a.m. PST, from a range of approximately 660,000 kilometers (400,000 miles). Mimas is one of the smaller Saturnian satellites with a low density implying its chief component is ice. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA.

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