The Death Star is real ! ! !

Which image seems more familiar? The one on the left or the one on the right?

Well, we all know the Death Star, as invented by George Lucas in Star Wars in 1977, the left image, but what is the right-hand image all about?

The right-hand image is, in fact, a real photograph of one of Saturn's moons, and her name is Mimas. This moon was unknown in 1977 when Star Wars came out, and was not discovered until 1981 when the Voyager spacecraft (launched in 1977!) visited the Saturnian system.

When scientists first saw the huge crater, now named Herschel, they were quite literally astonished out of their shoes. Had George Lucas some prior knowledge? Was he, in fact, an alien himself?

This image of Mimas was taken with the Cassini craft's cameras and is the best we have. The angle by which the camera has caught Mimas is no accident.

Notice how, in the photo of Mimas, there is no "star-background", like the Death Star has. This is because the light from the "star-background" is so faint, AND out of focus, you cannot see it in the image.

Sometimes science kicks up something which almost defies description in terms of surprise and wonderment. This is just one of them, and one of the reasons why I love my physics.