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Cassini Returns Photos of Hyperion

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the bigger-better-luffas dept.

imipak writes "The Cassini Saturn probe has captured the previously unseen northern polar region of Saturn's moon Hyperion. Its weirdly eroded surface looks like nothing else in the solar system seen so far, demonstrating once again that when it comes to planetary exploration, "expect the unexpected" is more than just glib advice from the Hitch-hiker's Guide!"

4 of 202 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong moon. by Kjellander · · Score: 5, Informative

    The image in the post http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/moons /images/PIA07737-br500.jpg is of the moon Tethys and not Hyperion.

    It was a double flyby, hence the confusion.

    1. Re:Wrong moon. by Kjellander · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm not trolling!

      One of the links in the post is of Tethys, not Hyperion. Look for yourself!

      http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image -details.cfm?imageID=1759

      Someone should correct the post.

  2. As usual, slashdot editing leaves a bit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    Um, I realize that typing up an article takes work, but perhaps some thought and energy might be used to make things a bit more comprehensible....

    The two pictures are from different moons, Tethys (second link), Hyperion (first link). Perhaps reading a caption from the real article at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm would help

  3. Possible Interpretation by lorelorn · · Score: 5, Informative
    If you look at the main facing side of Hyperion (in the image that is actually of Hyperion) what you are seeing is part of a very old impact crater.

    You can see the raised part in the centre, around which is part of the old crater wall.

    Note the crater wall is significantly brighter than the surrounds - this is exposed materials, mainly water ice to judge from the brightness.

    The other thing to note is that the crater is incomplete, and is itself riddled with craters, both the centre and the crater walls. This tells us that the large crater is very old. How old I would leave to an expert of the Saturnian system, who would no more about impact frequencies than me.

    Hyperion is interesting in that it is the largest irregular body in the solar system. Anything larger (and many smaller objects) are pulled into a spherical shape by their own gravity. Hyperion is not that much smaller than Enceladus, and is of a similar make-up (frozen H2O) yet these object are very different.

    I would hypothesise that a large impact has sheared off part of Hyperion- that's why the large crater is incomplete - the rest is gone, possibly to become part of the ring material but I don't know what the timing of that blast was.

    The very strange not-really-craters next to the very large impact crater I would say were outgassing artefacts, not any type of impact crater. Basically the heat from the large impact caused volatiles to rocket out of Hyperion, leaving those sort of "exit valve" formations.