Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Moon of the Day - Hyperion


Today's moon is Hyperion, a moon of Saturn.

This is the second irregularly shaped moon we've featured. But this one is much larger than Phobos, with a mean radius of approximately 135 km (compare to Phobos' 11.1 km). Hyperion has, as you can see, a very unusual sponge-like surface, and is unique among moons in the solar system for its chaotic axial rotation.

Take a look at this spectacular full-size version.

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