The Great Basin on Tethys
Explanation:
Some moons wouldn't survive the collision.
Tethys, one of
Saturn's larger moons
at about 1000 kilometers in diameter, survived the collision, but sports today the
expansive
impact crater Odysseus.
Sometimes called the Great Basin,
Odysseus
occurs on the leading hemisphere of
Tethys
and shows its great age by the relative amount of smaller craters that occur inside
its
towering walls.
The density of Tethys is similar to
water-ice.
The
above digitally enhanced image was captured late last year by the
robot Cassini spacecraft
in orbit around Saturn as it swooped past the
giant
ice ball.
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.
