September 17, 2022
On this date in 1789, William Herschel discovered Saturn’s moon Mimas. Mimas appeared only as a small dot to astronomers until the Voyager missions provided a closer look in 1980. The closest images of Mimas come from the Cassini mission which focused on Saturn, its rings, and its moons. Mimas, which consists primarily of water ice, is covered in craters. The largest crater is called Herschel after the moon’s discoverer, and it covers nearly a third of the diameter of Mimas.
To learn more about the moon Mimas, visit: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/mimas/in-depth/
This photo of Mimas was taken during Cassini’s closest flyby. Herschel crater and its distinctive central peak feature prominently in this photo. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
