Cassini captured the Star of the Death

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.
Specialists working with the probe "Cassini", published images of Saturnian satellite Mimas, nicknamed because of the giant crater Herschel Death Star.

As the Lenta.Ru, the photo was taken from a distance of 70 thousand kilometers of February 13, 2010 during the next rendezvous "Cassini" with Mimas. In the background is visible silhouette of Saturn, and at the satellite - Herschel crater diameter of 130 kilometers, the appearance of which at one time was almost destroyed by a heavenly body.

Mimas was discovered in 1789. Low density of the satellite shows that it consists mainly of ice and rocks. In addition, the object is not quite spherical - its dimensions are approximately 418 to 382 to 383 kilometers.

Cassini was launched in 1997 and is a joint project of ESA, NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Most recently, the mission of the probe was extended until 2017. A total of Cassini around Saturn to make 155 revolutions.

Recall that in August 2009 with the help of one of the spacecraft NASA American scientists have discovered in Saturn's rings, three unidentified object.

Probe Cassini photographed several new objects that appeared in Saturn's rings and the nature of which experts can not yet explain. Careful study of these groups took up the researchers. Especially for this purpose spacecraft will approach to the rings in as close as possible and make the pictures so that at the right place fell rays of sunlight.

The discovery was made during the analysis of photographs. One of the objects "issued" a long shadow, which extends from the ring plane at 41 km. Based on the length of the shadow of the scientists calculated that the object is located at an altitude of about 200 m above the plane of the ring. The approximate size of the moon - about 400 m.