Carolyn Porco, lead scientist for the Cassini imaging team, say it's made up of particles collected from Saturn's rings. Since the rings are thin, so is the region in which they hit.
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According to JPL, there was a scheduled closest approach of 25 000 km on March 7. So the timing of the post is right.
ReplyDeletehttps://goo.gl/ua3ELO
It would have been nice if the OP provided a link to the source of these images.
I've found one of these images on Redit where they are presented without a source.
ReplyDeletereddit.com - Pan, Moon of Saturn • r/space
Weird that I can't find it on NASAs site.
Yeah, I was about to post the reddit one but you beat me to it. :) I guess NASA will respond soon... unless it's all a big hoax...
ReplyDeleteLooks kinda CGI in the last pic here.
ReplyDeleteRhys Taylor Wonton?...or Tortellini? ;-)
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness though...this confirms the unusual shape: saturn-archive.jpl.nasa.gov - Saturn's Saucer Moons
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to tell if it is CGI, though that is entirely possible. It wouldn't be that hard to fake such an image.
ReplyDeleteMore things in heaven and Earth, Horatio...
ReplyDeleteOk...I have investigated further and the source is credible; he is with the Planetary Society: See here --> https://www.flickr.com/photos/10795027@N08/with/32525218783/ and here --> planetary.org - Ian Regan
ReplyDeleteBut...those could still be CGI that he created
ReplyDeleteHere is the official NASA image: saturn.jpl.nasa.gov - Image of Pan
ReplyDeleteThank you yall, for the sleuthing, making sure it's real!
ReplyDeletePan brushes a ring and pulls and tugs the edge of it as it goes. It looks like it's picked up a skirt in the process.
My bet: it's a 3D scan of a bun with a slice of ham.
ReplyDeleteWoops I have miss some comments... Good thing it's real :)
ReplyDeleteCristian Lorenzutti Hah ! Yes, well, potatoes have been known to make passable asteroids...
ReplyDeletehttp://astrorhysy.blogspot.cz/2013/05/why-nasa-are-paying-me-to-photograph.html
Looks like a walnut. How fast is it spinning, or how much was it spun up in the past and then slowed before it broke apart?
ReplyDeleteSummoning an expert: Morgan Rehnberg , what sort of mechanism would you envision being able to explain this type of geometry?
ReplyDeleteCarolyn Porco, lead scientist for the Cassini imaging team, say it's made up of particles collected from Saturn's rings. Since the rings are thin, so is the region in which they hit.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article from 2011, reinforcing Morgan Rehnberg's previous comment: See here --> http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/03/saturns-odd-baffling-moon-pan.html
ReplyDeleteCiro Villa NASA went with ravioli. (strange duplicate comment removed)
ReplyDeleteDogmatic Pyrrhonist Fair enough. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a giant petrified ravioli! 😃
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Looks like the spaceship in "Buckaroo Banzai"!
ReplyDeletehere ya go — from NASA's site, from today: jpl.nasa.gov - Cassini Reveals Strange Shape of Saturn's Moon Pan
ReplyDelete