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The equatorial circumference of Tethys is 3348.9 km. The central complex of Odysseus features a central pit 2–4 km deep surrounded by massifs elevated by 6–9 km above the crater floor, which itself is about 3 km below the average radius. The largest impact crater, Odysseus, is about 400 km in diameter, whereas the largest graben, Ithaca Chasma, is about 100 km wide and more than 2000 km long. Its volume is 634264255.
Its irregular shape is 331 miles (533 kilometers) in mean radius, with dimensions 669 x 657 x 654 miles (1076.8 x 1057.4 x 1052.6 kilometers). [35], The Cassini spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn in 2004. The content is provided for information purposes only.
As with all but two of the major Saturnian moons, Tethys is tidally locked in phase with its parent planet — the same side always faces toward Saturn. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, and provide content from third parties. This, and other mysteries, will likely be addressed by future space probe missions. Join our 836 patrons!
Discovery. The ocean would have frozen after the moons escaped from the resonance. This is due to the fact that a small part of the surface is covered by smooth plains, which are devoid of the craters and graben that cover much of the planet. [33] Temperature maps of Tethys obtained by Cassini, have shown this bluish region is cooler at midday than surrounding areas, giving the satellite a "Pac-man"-like appearance at mid-infrared wavelengths.
[51] Later in 1981 Voyager 2 revealed that it almost circled the moon running for 270°.
Tethys is Saturn's fifth largest moon. Closer to the equator, the terrain is darker and has fewer craters. Cassini referred to Tethys as one of the four Sidera Lodoicea (Stars of Louis) after King Louis XIV (the other three were Iapetus, Dione and Rhea). While Voyager 1 managed to capture an image of Ithaca Chasma, it was the Voyager 2 mission that revealed much about the surface and imaged the Odysseus crater. And More…. One of the most interesting explanations proposed is that the rings and inner moons accreted from the ice-rich crust of a much larger, Titan-sized moon before it was swallowed up by Saturn. Social Media Lead: Named after the island of Ithaca in Greece, this valley runs approximately three-quarters of the way around Tethys' circumference. The orbital eccentricity is 0.0001, it is the degree at which Tethys orbits close to a circular (0) orbit as opposed to an elliptical (1) orbit.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/SWRI ). Tethys is a Moon that orbits round the planet Saturn.
This is because the Moon rotates around on its own axis in exactly the same time it takes to orbit the Earth, meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. [44] One of the most interesting explanations proposed is that the rings and inner moons accreted from the tidally stripped ice-rich crust of a Titan-like moon before it was swallowed by Saturn. Cassini observed all of these moons using a large aerial telescope he set up on the grounds of the Paris Observatory. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! That diameter is nearly two-fifths of Tethys itself. The name Tethys has two customary pronunciations, with either a 'long' or a 'short' e: /ˈtiːθɪs/[18] or /ˈtɛθɪs/. Spitzer, designed to reveal the far, cold and dusty side of the universe, made discoveries its designers never even imagined, including a previously unseen ring of Saturn. The subsurface ocean may have resulted from a 2:3 orbital resonance between Dione and Tethys early in the Solar System's history that led to orbital eccentricity and tidal heating of Tethys's interior. Tethys has a mean density of 0.984 ± 0.003 grams per cubic centimeter. Tethys’ has virtually no orbital eccentricity, but it does have an orbital inclination of about 1°. The latter can be a result of focusing the seismic waves produced by the impact in the center of the opposite hemisphere. She was said to be the mother of the chief rivers, the mother of three thousand daughters called the Oceanids and the embodiment of the waters of the world. The dimensions of this ellipsoid are consistent with it having a homogeneous interior.
Composition and Surface Features:
The team suggested the red might be due to chemical impurities, remainders of gas from the moon's interior, or features that could not be resolved in the image. With a mean radius of 531.1 ± 0.6 km and a mass of 6.1745 ×1020 kg, Tethys is equivalent in size to 0.083 Earths and 0.000103 times as massive. These smaller moons are held in Lagrangian points (L4 and L5, respectively), where objects are stable with the larger controlling body. As this dust and gas coalesced, it formed Tethys and its two co-orbital moons: Telesto and Calypso.
A name is preferred even if its a random made up one by yourself. [35], The western part of the leading hemisphere of Tethys is dominated by a large impact crater called Odysseus, whose 450 km diameter is nearly 2/5 of that of Tethys itself. The next full Moon will be early Sunday morning, July 5, 2020.
Learn facts about Tethys (moon) for kids. Temperature maps of Tethys obtained by Cassini have shown this bluish region to be cooler at midday than surrounding areas.
Tethys has been approached by several space probes in the past, including Pioneer 11 (1979), Voyager 1 (1980) and Voyager 2 (1981). Tethys is a Moon that orbits round the planet Saturn.
Didymos B is getting an official name of its own: Dimorphos. Credit: Geological features on Tethys generally get their names from "The Odyssey" by Homer. Tethys has no atmosphere, and keeps one face perpetually pointed toward its parent planet. The western hemisphere of Tethys is dominated by a huge, shallow crater called Odysseus. https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/, Audio Podcast version: Our Book is out! However, given the fact that rock accounts for less 6% of its mass, a differentiated Tethys would have a core that did not exceed 145 km in radius.
[23], It is not known whether Tethys is differentiated into a rocky core and ice mantle.
It is more than 2000 km in length, approximately 3/4 of the way around Tethys' circumference. 06:21 It's probably not life. Karla Thompson – @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw At 400 km across, it is the largest crater on the surface, and roughly 2/5th the size of Tethys itself. [35] Ithaca Chasma occupies about 10% of the surface of Tethys. Its density has been calculated at being 0.973. These include Rhea and Iapetus, which he discovered in 1671-72; and Dione, which he discovered alongside Tethys.
[42] The low temperature at the position of Saturn in the Solar nebular means that water ice was the primary solid from which all moons formed. [44] This can partially explain why Saturnian moons including Tethys contain more water ice than outer Solar System bodies like Pluto or Triton as the oxygen freed from carbon monoxide would react with the hydrogen forming water. At 250 miles (400 km) across, the crater is about the size of Saturn's smallest major moon, Mimas. [Photos: The Rings and Moons of Saturn]. Tethys orbits 183,000 miles (295,000 kilometers) from Saturn, taking 45.3 hours to circle the planet. These include Rhea and Iapetus, which he discovered in 1671-72; and Dione, which he discovered alongside Tethys. Here’s one about the story about Tethys, with a photograph taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, and another about a feature on the surface of Tethys called Ithaca Chasma. Tethys has two co-orbital moons, Telesto and Calypso, which orbit near Tethys's Lagrange Points.
The rocket booster segments that will help power NASA’s first Artemis flight test mission around the Moon arrived at KSC.