Question 1

True or false: Saturn's rings are made entirely of ice, with no rocky particles at all.

Accepted Answer

False. Saturn's rings are mostly ice but also contain rocky debris and dust; they're not pure ice.

Question 2

True or false: Mimas is the only moon in the solar system that orbits Saturn backwards.

Accepted Answer

False. Several of Saturn's outer moons (like Phoebe) have retrograde orbits; Mimas orbits in the same direction as Saturn's rotation.

Question 3

True or false: Mimas was discovered in 1789 by the astronomer William Herschel.

Accepted Answer

True. William Herschel discovered Mimas on September 17, 1789, using a 40-foot telescope—he also found Uranus and several other moons.

Question 4

True or false: The impact that created Mimas's Herschel Crater nearly shattered the moon into pieces.

Accepted Answer

True. The crater is about 80 miles wide—one-third of Mimas's diameter—and the impact shockwaves caused fractures on the opposite side.

Question 5

True or false: Mimas looks like the Death Star because it actually has a massive laser cannon.

Accepted Answer

False. Mimas has a giant impact crater called Herschel that makes it resemble the Death Star, but it's just a crater—no laser, no superweapon.

Question 6

True or false: Mimas is so small that its gravity is too weak to pull itself into a perfect sphere.

Accepted Answer

True. Mimas is only 246 miles across, and it's slightly squashed (not perfectly round) due to its weak gravity and tidal forces from Saturn.

Question 7

True or false: Mimas has a subsurface ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2022, scientists found evidence that Mimas likely has a liquid water ocean under its surface, making it a candidate for habitability.

Question 8

True or false: Mimas orbits Saturn in less time than it takes Saturn to rotate once.

Accepted Answer

True. Mimas orbits Saturn in about 22.6 hours, while Saturn's rotation is roughly 10.7 hours—so Mimas is actually slower.

Mimas Trivia Questions