Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Dione and Saturn's rings



Saturn's moon, Dione, looks split in half by Saturn's rings in this picture taken by the Cassini spacecraft from 1.4 million miles away.  Turnus, a medium sized crater, can be seen just above the seemingly razor thin rings. 

Discovered by Giovanni Cassini (the astronomer for whom the spacecraft is named), Dione wasn't named until 1847 when John Herschel (son of William who discovered Uranus) suggested the name of the sisters and brothers of Cronus be used.

Dione is the 15th largest moon in our solar system.

http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia18358/dione-divided

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