NASA publishes never-before-seen photos of ‘ravioli’ moon orbiting Saturn

[Kamaji]

NASA publishes never-before-seen photos of ‘ravioli’ moon orbiting Saturn

By Michael Lee, Fox News
Published Oct. 1, 2023

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) dropped never-before-seen photos of one of Saturn’s moons while comparing them to well-known food dishes.

“Ravioli, pierogi, empanada… What do you see? No wrong answers,” NASA posted on its Instagram account Monday, accompanied by pictures of Pan, the innermost of Saturn’s moons.

The photos, which were taken from the Cassini spacecraft, show the unique moon in a new level of detail.

According to the space agency, the ridge around the equator of Pan has similar characteristics to Atlas, another moon that orbits Saturn. That ridge gives Pan its unique “dumpling” shape, according to NASA.

Pan orbits Saturn from inside a gap in one of the planet’s rings, the post explained, making an orbit around the planet every 13.8 hours at an altitude of 83,000 miles.

*  *  *

Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/10/01/nasa-publishes-never-before-seen-photos-of-ravioli-moon-orbiting-saturn/

[Kamaji]

[bigheadfred]

That's A weird one.

[Polly Ticks]

That's A weird one.

It really is.  I wonder why the ridge at the equator seems to be "smoother" than the main body of the moon.
It's interesting, anyway.

[Kamaji]

It really is.  I wonder why the ridge at the equator seems to be "smoother" than the main body of the moon.
It's interesting, anyway.

Maybe the center got squeezed out, like the filling in a jelly donut.

[Polly Ticks]

Maybe the center got squeezed out, like the filling in a jelly donut.

LOL -- or maybe a warm "moon" pie!   

[catfish1957]

It really is.  I wonder why the ridge at the equator seems to be "smoother" than the main body of the moon.
It's interesting, anyway.

I am not an Astrophysicist, but I just can't fanthom how a celestial structure through natural cosmic forces can happen like this.

Wierd is an understatment. 

[Kamaji]

Well, it is only 35km by 23km, so it's probably small enough to resist a lot of the forces that tend to cause celestial bodies to become spheroids.

[bigheadfred]

More on formation

Here's Why Saturn's Inner Moons Are Shaped Like Ravioli and Potatoes

https://www.space.com/amp/40653-saturns-weird-moon-shapes-explained.html

[Kamaji]

More on formation

Here's Why Saturn's Inner Moons Are Shaped Like Ravioli and Potatoes

https://www.space.com/amp/40653-saturns-weird-moon-shapes-explained.html

Thanks!

[Polly Ticks]

More on formation

Here's Why Saturn's Inner Moons Are Shaped Like Ravioli and Potatoes

https://www.space.com/amp/40653-saturns-weird-moon-shapes-explained.html

Huh.  Turns out you were pretty close with the creamy filling, @Kamaji !