The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicPhoebe rotates through nearly one full rotation in this animated sequence of nine frames, taken on the Cassini-Huygens approach to the small moon on 10 June 2004. Phoebe rotates on its axis once every nine hours and 16 minutes; this sequence spans eight hours and 14 minutes; all 360 degrees of longitude on Phoebe are visible in this sequence.
The surface is clearly covered by impact craters of a wide range of sizes, up to 40 percent of the diameter of the moon, creating rugged topography, illustrated dramatically along the terminator and limb.
The images that make up this sequence were obtained at a phase, or Sun-Phoebe-spacecraft, angle of 87 degrees, and from distances ranging from 877 453 kilometres to 688 924 000 kilometres. The image scale ranges from 5.3 to 4.1 kilometres (3.3 to 2.6 miles) per pixel. To aid visibility, the images were magnified three times via linear interpolation; no contrast enhancement was performed.