Same shape, different moon…
An interplanetary dedication of love for all you starry-eyed geeks:
This is an image from Cassini. It’s a closeup of a crater on Rhea, a moon of Saturn about half the size of our own natural satellite. I love how the small crater and ridge inside the bigger crater make it look like the heart is winking!
In the full size image you can see what looks like a ridge to the left of the heart, but in fact that’s the edge of a vast crater on the surface of Rhea. You can see it better in this image of the whole moon, where I’ve marked the location of the heart:
I don’t know exactly what’s going on with this heart; is it a crater that expanded when the walls collapsed around it, so it’s no longer round? Or is it a sink hole, where the whole thing is a collapse feature? I love pictures like this, showing us the diversity and cool-factor of other worlds in our solar system.
And, of course: Happy Valentine’s Day.
Related posts:
Have a cosmic Valentine’s Day
Scientific Valentines
The beating heart of W5
Have an astronomical Valentine’s Day
