From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of named geological features on Hyperion.
There is one named dorsum (ridge) on Hyperion.
[edit] Craters
Hyperion has many craters full of a mysterious reddish gunk. The material contains long chains of
carbon and
hydrogen and appears very similar to material found on other Saturnian satellites, most notably
Iapetus.
[1]
This is a list of craters on Hyperion. Hyperionian craters are named after sun and moon gods in various mythologies.
In July 2007, image analyses suggest the moon's odd appearance is the result of a highly porous surface that preserves craters, allowing them to remain nearly as pristine as the day they were created. Scientists determined that Hyperion is composed mostly of water ice and that the bottoms of its craters are covered in a dark red gunk that could be the key to resolving some of the moon's other strange properties. The latest analyses of data obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its flybys of Hyperion in 2005 and 2006 show that about 40 percent of the moon is empty space. The new analyses also confirmed that Hyperion is composed mostly of water ice with very little rock. "We find that water ice is the main constituent of the surface, but it's dirty water ice," said Dale Cruickshank, a researcher at NASA Ames Research Center. [2]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
