Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Cassini's February 13 flyby of Mimas

Cassini's February 13 flyby of Mimas
Cassini's February 13 flyby of Mimas On February 13, 2010, Cassini flew within 9,500 kilometers of Mimas, the closest encounter yet with the smallest of Saturn's round satellites. Cassini approached from the night side and retreated with a nearly full-phase view of Mimas' leading hemisphere including the giant crater Herschel. The highest resolution view (the bottom center frame of the first mosaic) shows Herschel from a distance of about 15,000 kilometers away. Two multispectral mosaics covered most of the visible disk around the crater Herschel. A few last images were caught as the camera "rode along" with an observation by one of the other optical instruments, and a last full-globe, multispectral shot of Mimas caught it completely filling the frame with the limb of Saturn as a backdrop. NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / montage by Emily Lakdawalla