NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Captures Image Of Mimas That Seems To Collide With Planet Saturn

It looks like a collision of Saturn's moon, Mimas, and the rings of Saturn in the image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. On the other hand, it is not.

Mimas is 28,000 miles (45,000 kilometers) away from the rings of Saturn. NASA officials said that there is a strong connection between the icy moon and Saturn's rings. They further said that the gravity links them together and shapes the way they both move.

Saturn's moon Mimas looks as if it's crashing through the rings, but it's actually 28,000 miles away: https://t.co/B2dxPWHbUL @CassiniSaturn pic.twitter.com/HXf7THIwdo

— NASA (@NASA) December 19, 2016

NASA officials added that Mimas, which is less than 250 miles (400 kilometers) in diameter, creates ripples in Saturn's rings with its gravity. Its gravity generates the Cassini Division, which separates the A and B rings, according to Space.com.

Cassini spacecraft took the image on Oct. 23, 2016. It was released by NASA on Dec. 19, 2016. It is captured at an estimated distance of 114,000 miles (183,000 kilometers) from Mimas and at a Sun-Mimas-spacecraft, or phase, an angle of 29 degrees. The scale of the image is about 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) per pixel, according to Space Daily.

Cassini spacecraft was launched in 1997 by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies. It collected data about the planet Saturn including its rings and moons for years. It will end its mission with a dive into Saturn on Sep. 15, 2017.

Yes, it's a moon. We checked. Take a look at Saturn's small moon Mimas: https://t.co/AulrLXJYcu #StarWars pic.twitter.com/EjOsq6vYcm — CassiniSaturn (@CassiniSaturn) December 16, 2016

Saturn's moon, Mimas, was discovered by William Herschel in 1789. It was named after Mimas, the son of Gaia in Greek mythology. It has a diameter of 396 kilometers and less than the area of Spain. It is considered the smallest astronomical body with round shape due to self-gravitation.