On This Day In Space: Sept. 17, 1789: Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon Mimas discovered (Image Credit: Space.com)
On Sept. 17, 1789, the British astronomer William Herschel discovered Saturn’s “Death Star” moon, Mimas.
Of course, “Star Wars” wasn’t a thing at the time, and no one had ever heard of something called a “Death Star.” But there’s no denying that this moon looks just like it.
Meet Mimas in Photos: Saturn’s Death Star Moon
Anyway, Herschel was a guy who liked to build telescopes and discover things, like the planet Uranus, tiny moons around Jupiter and Saturn, and other stuff out there in space. Shortly after he invented a huge new kind of reflecting telescope called the Herschelian telescope, he spotted Mimas orbiting Saturn.
Mimas is super tiny with a diameter of less than 250 miles. It is the smallest known spherical body in space that is held together by self-gravitation.
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