Mimas is a small icy moon of Saturn about 396 kilometers across, yet Herschel crater spans roughly one third of that face. Press play to spin the moon, face the huge basin, and toggle the central peak marker used in published basin descriptions.
Published figures: Mimas ~396 km across; Herschel ~130-140 km wide, floor ~10-12 km deep, walls ~5 km, central peak ~6-8 km above the floor (NASA/Cassini and basin literature). Moon discovered 1789.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Press Play or toggle Peak.
Related giant-scar explorers: Phobos Stickney Crater 3D Explorer and the step-by-step guide.
Mimas Herschel Crater 3D Explorer
Mimas is an inner icy moon of Saturn - about 396 kilometers across in Cassini summaries. On its leading hemisphere sits Herschel, an impact basin roughly 130 to 140 kilometers wide. That is nearly one third of the moon diameter, with floor depths often cited near 10 to 12 kilometers, walls about 5 kilometers high, and a central peak rising about 6 to 8 kilometers above the floor.
William Herschel discovered Mimas in 1789. Voyager 1 first returned a clear view of the crater in 1980; Cassini later flew close enough for stereo and high-resolution imaging, including a notable pass on 13 February 2010. Press coverage often notes a resemblance to the Death Star - a coincidence, because the crater was imaged years after the film. Some studies discuss a possible young ocean or elongated core; this page does not choose a side.
- Round icy Mimas with a giant Herschel crater bowl
- Toggleable central peak marker from published basin descriptions
- Saturn crescent in the background for orbital context (not to scale)
- Speed slider and Play/Pause rotation
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Anyone comparing tiny moons to giant impacts gets a concrete sense of how large Herschel is relative to Mimas itself.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Mimas diameter | ~396 km | NASA Cassini captions |
| Herschel diameter | ~130-140 km | NASA ~130 km; basin literature ~139-140 km |
| Floor depth | ~10-12 km | Published basin studies |
| Wall height | ~5 km | Commonly cited summaries |
| Central peak | ~6-8 km above floor | Commonly cited summaries |
| Moon discovered | 1789 | William Herschel |
| Cassini close view | 13 Feb 2010 | NASA Science |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational visualization - the bowl, rim, and peak are simplified and exaggerated for visibility, not a Cassini digital elevation mesh, and not an impact hydrocode.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Mimas Herschel Crater 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes Phobos Stickney Crater 3D Explorer and Iapetus Equatorial Ridge 3D Explorer for related giant-feature context.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is Herschel compared with Mimas?
Herschel is about 130-140 km across on a moon about 396 km across - roughly one third of one Mimas face. That relative size is why the impact is often described as nearly moon-shattering.
Why does it look like the Death Star?
The large circular basin with a bright central peak resembles the fictional battle station. NASA and others note the likeness, but Voyager imaged Herschel in 1980 - after the 1977 film - so the match is coincidence, not design.
What do Play, Peak, and Speed do?
Play spins the moon. Peak shows or hides the schematic central mountain. Speed changes how fast the spin runs. Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom.
Is this a real Cassini terrain model?
No. It is a procedural schematic grounded in published sizes. Depths and peak height are exaggerated for visibility. It does not solve impact physics or map every groove.
Does Mimas have an ocean?
Some Cassini libration and later studies discuss a possible young ocean or elongated core. The evidence is debated. This explorer does not choose a side or draw an interior ocean layer.