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The Surface of Mimas



This is an image of Mimas.
Click on image for full size version (52K JPG)
Image from: NASA
The surface of Mimas is pockmarked with craters. In that respect Mimas is very much like Callisto. The largest crater is what gives Mimas its unique shape similar to the Death Star. This crater represents perhaps the largest impact that a small body such as Mimas could sustain without shattering. The crater is about 135 km (90 miles) across, which is about the width of Lake Michigan. Perhaps a collision such as this is what caused an older moon to break apart and form Epimetheus and Janus.

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Last modified November 5, 1997 by the Windows Team

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