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Imaging Diary - Cassini
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| Craters and Chasms on Tethys - Sep 29, 2005 | | | A recent tweak to Cassini's trajectory allowed an even closer approach of 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) to the Saturnian moon, Tethys, than originally planned, and yielded unrivaled views of the icy moon’s cratered landscape and a look into the gargantuan canyon system called Ithaca Chasma. |
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Alliance Member Comments
Reciprocating Rings |
Dragon_of_Luck_Mah_Jonng1971 2009-05-24 13:27:16 | View all member's comments | ( No details visible on the 4 moons and no sun on Tethys' north polar area. )
( On 'Shadow Cap' Mimas is looking unusual with the penumbra and umbra of the rings darkening its north polar area. )
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Odysseus and Penelope |
Dragon_of_Luck_Mah_Jonng1971 2009-05-24 12:24:40 | View all member's comments | This view is 'Voyager class' by my opinion. ( It's not 'Cassini class' as e. g. 'Hi-Res on Tethys'. )
Nevertheless I'm seeing good details on it, mainly: The familiar crater at the left is showing here its depth easily; at the top and the lower left there are ( probably ) 2 parallel-running canyon systems that could be Ithaca Chasma; ( changing the curvature of the moon's limb at the lower left thus they're deep ) and a large crater at the top slightly right to the middle that is looking many more degraded than the familiar left one. The two parallel features ( I think ) are running through the mentioned crater at the top indicating that they're younger than it.
For me it's not a truely new view of Tethys but still of medium interest. | |
Dione's Pockmarked Side |
Red_dragon 2009-03-25 08:14:12 | View all member's comments | Very interesting image. It's also quite interesting to compare the basin that dominates this view of Dione with Tethys' huge crater Odysseus (for example, note how Odysseus seems to lack the internal ring Dione's basin has) | |
Enceladus Rev 80 Flyby Skeet Shoot #3 |
Mercury_3488 2008-08-14 07:06:02 | View all member's comments | Hi rgedaly.
It is reckoned that Enceladus has rolled over. Jupiter's moon Io is another point. Some of the larger plumes on Io like Tvashtar are in the higher latitudes than the equator.
Dione also appears to have extentional faults & graben too. It is thought that Dione is partially responsible, for the heating of Enceladu, but Dione too, appears to have been very active at some point. Dione is approx 30 times the mass of Enceladus. What caused Dione to be active? Rhea??????? Yet Rhea appears as dead as a dodo, with not much happening there other being cratered.
it's interesting to see the pattern outwards from Saturn.
Mimas. Inactive cratered.
Enceladus, active.
Tethys. Inactive, cratered.
Dione, has been active, possibly still is on a small level.
Rhea. Second largest of Saturn's moons, inactive, cratered.
Titan. Possibly very active, with cryovolcanoes & tectonic activity.
Iapetus. Inactive, cratered, but with a huge equatorial mountain belt, possibly home to some of the highest peaks not on Mars & Io.
Some parts of the south polar region on Enceladus does resemble Europa in may respects, yet Europa is approx 500 times Enceladus's mass.
It is interesting to see how similar landforms appear on bodies that cover a woide range of size & mass.
Andrew Brown. | |
Map of Tethys - June 2008 |
Mercury_3488 2008-08-11 06:55:36 | View all member's comments | Sorry Carolyn,
Perhaps I was a bit blunt, but also perhaps I did not put my point across very well.
Yes, it's true that Tethys & Rhea do not have the geological impact that Titan, Enceladus, Dione & Iapetus have, & visually, yes, it's craters on craters on craters.
But yes also, they record the pasdt environment better than the active or recently active moons a lot better, as geological activity erases what's there before, so Tethys & Rhea are a huge bonus in this respect of recording what has happened within the Kronian system as a whole.
So yes I am very pleased to see that they are ALL being mapped properly now. Perhaps rather than boring, Tehtys & Rhea are probably the simplist large moons in the solar system. I think perhaps only the Uranian moon Umbriel out of the other large solar system moons is as simple??
Andrew Brown. | |
Map of Tethys - June 2008 |
Mercury_3488 2008-08-10 08:02:23 | View all member's comments | I agree also with you on this bruno.
Compared to Enceladus, Dione & Iapetus, Tethys does come over as a bit of a bore.
True Ithaca Chasma does offer something else, but really there appears to be little else of interest. There appears to be a smoother band around the equator, but even that is craters on craters on craters.
IMO Rhea & Tethys are among the most boring larger moons in the solar system.
Their saving graces may be they record the environment of the conditions within the Saturn system over the last 4.56 GYrs.
It is good to see though that they are all being properly mapped. This is fundamental in understanding the evolution of the Saturn system.
Andrew Brown. | |
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