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Mimas

Mimas

Saturn's smallest spherical moon is thought to be composed largely of ice.

Though it is only 250 miles (400km) in diameter, Mimas has a huge 80-mile-wide (130km) impact crater called Herschel, which is named after the moon's discoverer, astronomer William Herschel. Some say this large crater makes Mimas look a bit like the Death Star in the Star Wars films.

Photo: Mimas taken by the Cassini probe (NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

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Mimas

About Mimas

Saturn's small moon is home to a very large crater.

About Mimas

Mimas is a moon of Saturn which was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. It is named after Mimas, a son of Gaia in Greek mythology, and is also designated Saturn I.

With a diameter of 396 kilometres (246 mi) it is the twentieth-largest moon in the Solar System and is the smallest known astronomical body that is rounded in shape due to self-gravitation.

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