* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Tethys

Blobrana · L

This image was taken on September 24, 2005 by the Cassini probe, and shows a thin Tethys crescent with the ring system viewed edge on. The probe was approximately 45,243 kilometres away from the surface. The image was taken using the CL1 and BL1 filters.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Blobrana · L

Tethys flyby

Blobrana · L

RE: Tethys

Blobrana · L

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This was taken on September 24, 2005 when Tethys was approximately 51,971 kilometres away

This was taken on September 24, 2005 when Tethys was approximately 29,081 kilometres away

This was taken on September 24, 2005 when Tethys was approximately 22,522 kilometres away

This was taken on September 24, 2005 when Tethys was approximately 21,438 kilometres away

Blobrana · L

This map of the surface of Saturn's moon Tethys illustrates the regions that will be imaged by Cassini during the spacecraft's close flyby of the moon on September 24, 2005.
At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass approximately 1,500 kilometres above the moon's surface.

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The coloured lines delineate the regions that will be imaged at differing resolutions, listed in the legend at bottom.
The new high-resolution coverage will reveal details on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Tethys, including parts of the giant Ithaca Chasma canyon system. Imaging scientists also are hoping to obtain images of an ancient ridge east of Ithaca Chasma, as well as a section of terrain just west of the giant rift that appeared to be unusually smooth in NASA Voyager images.
This flyby is also focused on gathering high-resolution imaging data of the moon's southern polar region.
The map was made from images obtained by both the Cassini and Voyager spacecraft.

Blobrana · L

The profile of the 450-kilometer-wide crater Odysseus makes this image look as if someone sliced off a chunk of Tethys. According to measurements made in Voyager images, the crater rim rises to about 5 kilometres above the surrounding terrain.
This view shows territory eastward of a previously released Cassini view that looked more directly into the giant impact basin. The moon's equatorial dark band can be seen here as well.

This view shows principally the southern leading hemisphere of Tethys. North is up and rotated 10 degrees to the left.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 31, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometres from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 18 degrees. The image scale is 8 kilometres per pixel.

Blobrana · L

This view shows the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Tethys (north is up). Craters along the terminator, the boundary between day and night, are Penelope (top) and Antinous (bottom).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on August 3rd, 2005 when the spacecraft was approximately 842,000 kilometres from Tethys.
The image was taken with a filter sensitive to wavelengths of polarized ultraviolet light centred at 338 nanometres from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 144 degrees.
Image scale is 5 kilometres per pixel.

A close inspection of this image reveals that there is more of Saturn's moon Tethys here than is apparent at first glance. A slim crescent is all that is visible of the moon's sunlit side, but the left half of the image is dimly lit by "Saturnshine," or reflected light from the planet lying off to the left of Cassini's field of view.

Blobrana · L

This image shows Saturn's moon Tethys with a distinctive dark equatorial band, along with two sizeable impact craters in the west. The larger crater to the north is Odysseus, which has a diameter of 450 kilometres that is a substantial fraction of the moon's width.

Several moons in the outer solar system have large impact features like Odysseus, and scientists are interested in learning how such powerful impacts have altered the moons' surfaces.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 10, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometres from Tethys.
The image scale is 11 kilometres per pixel, and has been magnified by a factor of two to aid visibility.

Blobrana · L

This image of Saturn's moon Tethys shows the huge crater Odysseus and its central mountain in relief, as well as many smaller impact sites. Vertical relief on solid solar system bodies is often most easily visible near the terminator (the line between day and night). Tethys is 1,071 kilometres across.
North on Tethys is up in this view. The lit portion of Tethys seen here is on the moon's leading hemisphere as it orbits Saturn.

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The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 27, 2005, at a distance of approximately 490,000 kilometres from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 117 degrees. The image scale is 3 kilometres per pixel.