Saturn's Odd-Shaped Moons Explained

[bison]

The very odd shapes of Saturn's small, close-in moons, particularly Pan and Atlas, have long been a subject of keen interest. These moons have flattish centers, surrounded by even flatter, extended rims. Their shapes have been likened to everything from ravioli to fried eggs.

These shapes were suspected of being caused by collisions between even smaller objects in orbit of Saturn. A more detailed theory of their formation has now been published. Liked-sized bodies colliding under conditions unique to them, particularly high tidal stress due to very nearby Saturn, and low relative velocities, are thought to be responsible.

Please find a link, below, to an article with further details.

https://www.space.com/40653-saturns-weird-moon-shapes-explained.html 

[Astra.]

That's fascinating about some of Saturn's odd shaped moons Bison. When we think of moons, we mostly think of them as being rounded. Thanks for posting this.