Saturn's Moon Pan Gets Spectacular Shape Captured by NASA's Cassini Spacecraft

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft able to capture Saturn's moon in its most revealing shape. Pan, is the tiny Saturn moon with the strange shape.

In a report published by Deccan Chronicle, NASA revealed raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's moon, Pan. The images were not ordinary just like the images seen before because it shows the revealing and spectacular shape of the tiny Saturn's moon.

The said images were taken last March 7, 2017, by the NASA's Cassini Spacecraft. The spacecraft was able to capture the images at a closer approach at a distance of 24, 572 kilometers of about 15, 268 miles.

According to Sky and Telescope, Carolyn Porco from the Space Science Institute stated that "Nearing its end, Cassini delights again. Now, here is the 35-km Saturn's moon Pan in its mind blowing detail with an unmistakable accretionary equatorial bulge."

Saturn's moon Pan was discovered on July 16, 1990, by Mark Showalter from Stanford University. Its name was derived from the half-man and half-goat satyr, a character from Greek mythology. It was Saturn's moon Pan's waves in the wake of its passage via the Encke Gap which captured Showalter and his colleagues' interests.

Furthermore, Saturn's moon Pan orbits the planet in every 13.8 hours from a distance of 134,000 kilometers in 73,000 miles from the Saturnian cloud tops. Likewise, it has a 50% reflectance or albedo which is equivalent to dirty snow.

Additionally, it has a 34x31x21 kilometer moon caves that are located out the Encke Gap in the planet's bright A Ring. Meanwhile, the only idea which falls why the Saturn's moon Pan has incurred an extraordinary shape is due to the flange of ice around its equatorial bulge. The ring material has collected such ice as it makes its way through the Encke Gap.

Now, the images which were captured by the NASA's Cassini Spacecraft will be very helpful on characterizing the shape and geology of Saturn's moon Pan. Pan is an indicator that there are still more heavenly bodies which remain unexplored, with this matter, Cassini promises to offer more views.