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                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2025 January 12
     A cratered object is shown that shows on really large crater on its
    right side. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                     Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
      Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Cassini

   Explanation: Whatever hit Mimas nearly destroyed it. What remains is
   one of the largest impact craters on one of Saturn's smallest round
   moons. Analysis indicates that a slightly larger impact would have
   destroyed Mimas entirely. The huge crater, named Herschel after the
   1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel, spans about 130
   kilometers and is featured here. Mimas' low mass produces a surface
   gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough
   to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas is made of
   mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately
   described as a big dirty snowball. The featured image was taken during
   the closest-ever flyby of the robot spacecraft Cassini past Mimas in
   2010 while in orbit around Saturn.

                    Interactive: Take a trek across Mimas
     January 14: Zoom APOD Lecture hosted by the Amateur Astronomers of
                           Association of New York
                        Tomorrow's picture: do north
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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