Cassini sent new pictures of Saturn's moons - Mimas and Pandora

NASA has uploaded new images of satellites of Saturn, Mimas and Pandora. Despite the fact that both satellites revolve around the same planet, they are very different. Pandora, which is considered a small moon, since its diameter is only 81 kilometers, has an irregular elongated shape. Mimas, with a diameter of 396 kilometers, is already considered a satellite of medium size. Its shape is correct, thanks to a larger mass than Pandora.

The shape of these bodies helps to understand the history and development of satellites. For example, the explanation for the elongated form of Pandora may be the low density of the substance that makes up the planetoid. Perhaps Pandora was formed from the particles of the ring of Saturn, joined together for one reason or another.

The image of satellites and rings of Saturn was obtained in visible light, one of the cameras of the device, July 26, 2015.



The picture was taken at a distance of about 781 kilometers from Pandora, the resolution here is about 5 kilometers per pixel. Mimas was at that time at a distance of 1.4 million kilometers from Cassini, here the resolution is 8.4 kilometers per pixel.

" Cassini " (English Cassini orbiter.) - automatic interplanetary station. Named after the Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Cassini. Part of the Cassini-Huygens space program. Launched on October 15, 1997.

This year, the station will also explore another satellite of Saturn - Enceladus. So, on October 14, the station flew at a distance of only 1839 kilometers from the surface of Enceladus, on October 28, the station will be located from the surface of this space body at a distance of only 49 kilometers. Perhaps the device will fly through a plume of particles ejected by the cryovolcanoes of Enceladus, which will allow to study the composition of the particles. This information will help scientists study the characteristics of the subglacial satellite of Saturn. Astronomers now consider life on Enceladus very likely.



The last time Cassini will visit Enceladus in December, after which, already in 2017, photographs three more satellites of the gas giant.