Despite its Death Star look, Saturn’s moon Mimas means you no harm.

With its unmistakable crater Herschel, Mimas bears an uncanny resemblance to the ultimate weapon in the “Star Wars” film serial – the final installment of which will likely draw throngs of moviegoers to theaters today. But NASA’s Cassini orbiter found nothing fake about the Saturnian moon.

The crater Herschel, spanning 80 miles (130 kilometers), dominates the Mimas’ face. Even its central peak is visible almost exactly on the terminator line between day and night.

Mimas is a small, battered moon with a diameter of about 247 miles (398 kilometers). Astronomers believe that whatever impact formed the Herschel crater probably came close to destroying the moon altogether. Cassini used its narrow angle camera to capture this view of Mimas during a Jan. 16, 2005 swing past the moon at a distance of about 132,000 miles (213,000 kilometers).

This image has been rotated so that north is up on Mimas. Resolution was originally about 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) per pixel, though the image has been magnified by a factor of two, and contrast enhanced, to aid visibility.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute