SPACE — On December 23, 1672, Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini discovered Rhea, the second largest moon orbiting Saturn. Rhea consists of rock and ice covered in craters.
Rhea is also the only moon found to have an oxygen atmosphere. Rhea was the second moon discovered by Cassini. One year earlier, he discovered another moon of Saturn, Iapetus.
Rhea was not officially named until 1847. British astronomer John Herschel suggested that Saturn’s moons be named Titan. In Greek mythology, the Titans were the brothers and sisters of Cronus, whom the Romans called Saturn.
Cassini originally named the moons he discovered Sidera Lodoicea, meaning Star of Louis, after King Louis XIV. Because Cassini discovered four moons of Saturn, NASA named its spacecraft Cassini. Source: Space.com
Also read: Cassini-Huygens, the most valuable suicide mission between Titan and Saturn
2023-12-23 16:17:00
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