Posted on 06/30/2013 9:00:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: What lies at the bottom of Hyperion's strange craters? Nobody's sure. To help find out, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn swooped past the sponge-textured moon in 2005 and 2010 and took images of unprecedented detail. An image from the 2005 pass, shown above in false color, shows a remarkable world strewn with strange craters and a generally odd surface. The slight differences in color likely show differences in surface composition. At the bottom of most craters lies some type of unknown dark material. Inspection of the image shows bright features indicating that the dark material might be only tens of meters thick in some places. Hyperion is about 250 kilometers across, rotates chaotically, and has a density so low that it might house a vast system of caverns inside.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA]
Looks like a giant cinder
I see no resemblance...
Looks like my bath sponge.
If one were inclined to Science Fiction writing you could hide a nice big base and invasion fleet in that thing. Our solar system, a speck smaller than an atom in comparison with the observable universe, is an endlessly fascinating place. Of course, in the opposite direction so is the bottom of your average garden pond.
Captured comet?
These craters look like they were formed by out-gassing, and if so, what remains is the core of a captured comet.
Of course you don’t. Lew never wore a Lakers’ uniform.
};^)
Looks like barnacles have been growing on it. Could there be such a thing as space barnacles?
Yeah, and Barry Soetoro isn’t president either.
I was thinking that it looks like coral.
Wow...that was clever.
Looks like a barnacle or coral of some sort. Almost organic cellular structure.......
I thought it was a clumsy attempt to cover my near total lack of any sports acumen.
Wonder what molten lava would look like in a large vacuum chamber while it cooled, seems like a simple experiment.
Probably could get a close approximation with mixed 5 minute epoxy hardener and resin, pulling a vacuum while it hardened..........Just thinking.
Those are impact craters. The question is what is the composition of Hyperion. What it is composed of will define what the impact craters look like.
Solid rock would not give that type of impact picture. Perhaps a rock and ice mixture could give this picture. If Hyperion were solid rock, we would see rays from the impact craters, as on the moon, that are caused by ejecta from the impact. It would appear that Hyperion is a semisolid.
Those are impact craters. The question is what is the composition of Hyperion. What it is composed of will define what the impact craters look like.
Solid rock would not give that type of impact picture. Perhaps a rock and ice mixture could give this picture. If Hyperion were solid rock, we would see rays from the impact craters, as on the moon, that are caused by ejecta from the impact. It would appear that Hyperion is a semisolid.
It looks tough and mean.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
