Test Your Knowledge With Another "Where In The Universe" Challenge

By Nancy Atkinson - May 21, 2008 at 8:04 AM UTC | Observing
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It's Wednesday, so that means its time for another "Where In The Universe" challenge to test your visual knowledge of the cosmos. We've been busy searching hither and yon for unusual and unique astronomical images to see how well our readers are acquainted with the various locals across the universe. This week's image is an unusual looking object. Just what is this thing? Could it be an asteroid, a wierd moon, or something you can find on Earth? Hmmm...... Ponder the image for awhile, and no peeking below before you make a guess. If only I could insert some music here, like the "Think!" theme song from the Jeopardy game show. I'll have to talk to Fraser about that...

Have you made your guess?

And are you sure?

This is a Cassini image of Saturn's unusual moon Hyperion. Hyperion is the largest highly irregular (non-spherical) body in the solar system. Scientists believe its very likely that is a fragment of a larger body that was broken by a large impact in the distant past. Is this a coral reef in space?

This sponge-like looking moon is a remarkable world strewn with strange craters and basically a strange surface. At the bottom of most craters lies some type of unknown dark material. Astronomers think the dark material might be only tens of meters thick in some places. Hyperion is about 250 kilometers across, rotates chaotically, and has a density so low that it might be mostly hollow inside -- it may house a vast system of caverns. Wouldn't that be fun to explore!

Or its low density could indicate that it is composed of water ice with only a small amount of rock and considerably porous. It's very low density also seems to allow impacts to form deeper and sharper craters.

But unlike most of Saturn's moons, Hyperion has a low albedo (.2 - .3) indicating that it is covered by at least a thin layer of dark material. Cassini data from 2007 indicates that this material is rich in organic molecules. Quite an interesting place, this Hyperion.

How did you do on this week's challenge?

APOD

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Nine Planets

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com