A greyish moon, covered with craters, and in the middle a huge hollow: Mimas has a silhouette reminiscent of a science fiction station. But this brand was not manufactured. It is Herschel, an impact crater photographed by space probes.
Mimas measures about 394 kilometers in diameter. The crater, on the other hand, extends for some 130 kilometers: nearly a third of this width. Its relief is not reduced to a smooth hole; one distinguishes walls and a central summit.
NASA indicates that the shock at the origin of Herschel probably nearly dislocated the moon. The fractures on the opposite side could also be related to the waves of this impact. These are geological interpretations, not images of ancient shock.
Images from Voyager and Cassini revealed this natural scar. Its resemblance to a movie station comes from an impact, not a construction.
What we know
Visual resemblance to a fictional station; crater origin by impact, not structure built.
To go to the source
References accessed October 11, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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