Discovery of Mimas

Mimas, the innermost of Saturn's large moons, was discovered by the British-German astronomer William Herschel using his large reflecting telescope at Slough, near Windsor. It is a small, icy, heavily cratered body whose most striking feature is the huge Herschel crater, which gives it a resemblance to the Death Star of the Star Wars films. Its name, like those of other Saturnian moons, was suggested by Herschel's son John, who drew on Greek mythology. Mimas also shapes Saturn's rings, since its gravitational influence helps maintain the Cassini Division. The Cassini spacecraft later imaged it in great detail.

Open on the timeline