土卫一上的赫歇尔陨石坑
(原标题: Herschel Crater on Mimas)
2022-08-13
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土卫一是土星直径400公里的小卫星，拥有直径130公里的赫歇尔陨石坑，这是整个太阳系中最大的撞击坑之一。2010年，绕土星运行的卡西尼号宇宙飞船在以1万公里的距离创纪录地近距离掠过这个冰冷的小星球时，记录下了这张小卫星和大陨石坑的惊人景象。对比增强的假色图像数据更清楚地显示，赫歇尔的景观颜色与附近布满陨石坑的地形略有不同。颜色的差异可以为土卫一的剧烈历史提供表面成分的线索。当然，对土卫一的撞击，如果比产生130公里长的赫歇尔的撞击更大，就可能摧毁土星的这颗小卫星。
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Mimas, small 400 kilometer-diameter moon of Saturn, is host to 130 kilometer-diameter Herschel crater, one of the larger impact craters in the entire Solar System. The robotic Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn in 2010 recorded this startling view of small moon and big crater while making a 10,000-kilometer record close pass by the diminutive icy world. Shown in contrast-enhanced false color, the image data reveal more clearly that Herschel's landscape is colored slightly differently from heavily cratered terrain nearby. The color difference could yield surface composition clues to the violent history of Mimas. Of course, an impact on Mimas any larger than the one that created the 130-kilometer Herschel might have destroyed the small moon of Saturn.