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Impact crater on Tethys

Impact crater Odysseus on Saturn's moon Tethys

On Saturn's moon Tethys, the 450-kilometre-wide impact crater Odysseus is a huge area of sheer cliffs and steep mountains. The crater rim rises to about 5 kilometres above the surrounding terrain. Taken by the Cassini orbiter, this view of the enormous impact basin is an impressive sight.

Inside the main Odysseus crater, many smaller craters can also be seen - these must have been created after the main crater and show that the creation of the main impact crater was not a very recent event.

The image was taken on 24 December 2005 in polarised ultraviolet light by the Cassini spacecraft's narrow-angle camera from a distance of approximately 196 000 kilometres.