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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Тефия - спутник Сатурна http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1176963/eng |
Credit & Copyright: (digital w/colortable):
Calvin J. Hamilton
Explanation:
Tethys is one of the larger and closer moons of Saturn.
It was visited by both
Voyager spacecraft -
Voyager 1 in November 1980 and by
Voyager 2 in August 1981.
Tethys
is now known to be composed almost completely of water ice.
Tethys shows a large
impact crater
that nearly circles the planet.
That the impact that caused this crater did not
disrupt the moon is taken as evidence that
Tethys was not completely frozen in its past.
Two smaller moons,
Telesto and
Calypso, orbit
Saturn just ahead of and behind Tethys.
Giovanni Cassini discovered Tethys in 1684.
In 1997, NASA
launched a
spacecraft named Cassini to Saturn that will arrive in 2004.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.