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ORBONIX · SATURN SYSTEM
TETHYS
A bright icy moon of Saturn dominated by
water ice and the enormous Odysseus crater.
TETHYS · NASA / CASSINI
1,062 km
DIAMETER
294,600 km
DISTANCE FROM SATURN
1.89 DAYS
ORBITAL PERIOD
0.98 g/cm³
AVERAGE DENSITY
ICE + ROCK
MAIN COMPOSITION
1.12°
ORBITAL INCLINATION
THE ICY MOON
Tethys is one of Saturn's larger icy moons.
Its surface is dominated by water ice and
is heavily covered with impact craters.
The most spectacular feature on Tethys
is Odysseus, an enormous impact crater
roughly 450 kilometers across.
Another remarkable feature is Ithaca Chasma,
a huge canyon system that stretches for
hundreds of kilometers across the moon.
Tethys is tidally locked to Saturn, so the
same side of the moon always faces the planet.
ODYSSEUS CRATER
A gigantic impact basin nearly 450 km
wide dominates one side of Tethys.
ITHACA CHASMA
A vast system of cliffs and valleys extends
across a large part of Tethys.
WATER ICE
Tethys has a very low density, indicating
that it contains a large amount of water ice.
DID YOU KNOW?
The gigantic Odysseus crater covers almost
two-fifths of Tethys' diameter.
THE GREAT CANYON OF TETHYS
Tethys is composed largely of water ice and is marked by the enormous Odysseus impact basin. Another major feature, Ithaca Chasma, is a vast canyon system extending across a large fraction of the moon.
The relationship between these structures provides clues to the thermal and geological history of Tethys, including how its icy interior cooled and responded to large impacts.
IMAGE:
NASA / JPL-CALTECH / SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE /
CASSINI