Herschel () is a large
crater in the leading hemisphere of the
Saturnian moon
Mimas, centered on the equator at 112°
longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...
. It is named after the 18th-century astronomer
William Herschel
Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...
, who discovered Mimas in 1789.
Size
Herschel is the second-largest crater relative to its parent body of any
equilibrium planetary moon in the Solar System after
Tethys's crater
Odysseus. It is so large that astronomers have expressed surprise that Mimas was not shattered by the impact that caused it. It measures
[ across, almost one third the diameter of Mimas. Its walls are approximately high,]Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
it would be over in diameter – wider than Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
– with walls over high.
Origin
The impact that formed Herschel must have nearly disrupted Mimas entirely. Chasma
In planetary nomenclature, a chasma (''plural'': chasmata ) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2), ...
ta that may be stress fractures due to shock wave
In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...
s from the impact traveling through it and focusing there can be seen on the opposite side of Mimas. The impact is also suspected of having something to do with the current " Pac-Man"–shaped temperature pattern on Mimas.
Media reception
The similarity between Mimas's appearance and the Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the '' Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of annihilating entire planets into rubble, and serves t ...
in '' Star Wars'' due to the large size of Herschel has often been noted, both in the press and in NASA/JPL press releases. This is a coincidence, however, as the crater's similarities were not discovered until 1980 after Voyager 1
''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...
gained line of sight, three years after the film was made.
See also
*List of largest craters in the Solar System
Following are the largest impact craters on various worlds of the Solar System. For a full list of named craters, ''see List of craters in the Solar System''.
See also
* List of Solar System extremes
** List of largest lakes and seas in the ...
* List of tallest mountains in the Solar System
References
External links
* - featuring the Voyager 1 image
*
* - different photo than the 1995 one with the same title, features the Cassini image
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herschel (Crater On Mimas)
Impact craters on Saturn's moons
Mimas (moon)