Distant Rhea

Cassini caught a hint of Rhea's heavily cratered surface as it sped rapidly away from the moon on its first orbit of Saturn.

By Space Daily Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published August 26, 2004 · Updated March 14, 2026

Cassini caught a hint of Rhea’s heavily cratered surface as it sped rapidly away from the moon on its first orbit of Saturn. There is a noticeable brightening near the left limb of the icy moon. Cassini will have its first flyby of Rhea in November 2005.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 20, 2004, from a distance of 5.9 million kilometers (3.6 million miles) from Rhea, and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase angle of 91 degrees.

The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four to aid visibility.

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