Comments
snoopy369 t1_j6d553y wrote
This stackexchange answer discusses this some. It depends on the material and mass. Pallas is also not spherical, nor is Vesta. Pallas is a good bit bigger (mean radius over 200km).
[deleted] t1_j6d6zdn wrote
[removed]
I4Vhagar t1_j6d7ulj wrote
It’s clearly a giant egg, possibly space Godzilla?
KermitPhor t1_j6dw11l wrote
Just to behold, some are 6 miles deep and eons old, only one of the stories Cassini told!
Alright had to double check, it is one of the images from Cassini’s targetted flyby in 2005. Absolutely wild how the craters of water ice and mineral appear and the raw curiosity this draws up.
pippinator1984 t1_j6fokpb wrote
Potato or egg shaped caused by impact of other objects or it just formed this way from its beginning?
HungryTreasure t1_j6g10r8 wrote
WTF, where’s the huge city and all the robots?
Why_Syzygy t1_j6k39kb wrote
Hyperion is also one of like, only three known natural satellites in the solar system that isn’t tidally locked with its parent planet. A very unique satellite, indeed!
barrycarter t1_j6cwl75 wrote
I like potato-shaped :) because of the potato radius (https://www.technologyreview.com/2010/04/12/27697/potato-radius-to-define-dwarf-planets/). In the CSPICE computational libraries (https://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/aboutspice.html), all bodies are modeled as "potatoes", or, formally, triaxial ellipsoids.
EDIT: the numbers I have say the triaxial diameters are 360.2 km × 266.0 km × 205.4 km
[deleted] t1_j6cq6d1 wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6cqerj wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6cqv2x wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6cxk8y wrote
[removed]
Alana-9 t1_j6d6vxq wrote
Does anyone know, are those impact craters on its surface?
[deleted] t1_j6dul2g wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6dpmvc wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6dsyel wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6e7e02 wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6ehso6 wrote
[removed]
NeverFence t1_j6f84mo wrote
Parts of the surface almost appear porous. I wonder if that's the case or it's just many impacts
[deleted] t1_j6g6e8h wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6hks9y wrote
[removed]
[deleted] t1_j6hl17a wrote
[removed]
Who_DaFuc_Asked t1_j6j48cb wrote
I think it's cool that it's "kinda-sorta round". Like it's obviously not spherical but it does have a relatively defined smooth-ish shape.
Sassy-irish-lassy t1_j6cxfwb wrote
I believe that celestial bodies become rounded by their own gravity, but is there a certain minimum size where that won't happen?