Rhea

==Overview: ==
Rhea, Saturn's second-largest moon, is one of the many moons of Saturn and is part of the broader solar system. This article provides an overview of Rhea, highlighting its discovery, physical characteristics and orbit in the context of Saturnian exploration.
== Discovery: ==
Rhea was first spotted by the Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini on December 23, 1672.
== Physical Characteristics:==
* Size and Shape: Rhea has a mean radius of approximately 764.1 kilometers (474.8 miles) and a mean diameter of 1528 kilometers (949 miles), making it the second-largest moon of Saturn, surpassed only by Titan. Its spherical shape is attributed to self-gravitation.
* Surface Features: Rhea's surface is defined by a mix of heavily cratered terrain, fractures, and bright, wispy streaks known as "lineae." One of the most prominent features is the great equatorial ridge, a towering geological formation that stretches for hundreds of kilometers.
* Composition: The moon is primarily composed of water ice with a small percentage of rocky material. Its surface is relatively bright, reflecting sunlight effectively, resulting in a high albedo.
== Orbit and Rotation:==
* Orbit: Rhea orbits Saturn at an average distance of approximately 527,040 kilometers (327,500 miles). It has a near-circular orbit, taking roughly 4.52 Earth days to complete one orbit around the planet.
* Tidally Locked: Rhea, like many moons in the solar system, is tidally locked to its parent planet. This means it always shows the same face to Saturn.
* Thin Atmosphere: Rhea possesses an extremely tenuous exosphere primarily composed of oxygen and carbon dioxide, although it's very much too sparse to support human respiration.
==Surface Features:==
Rhea's surface is heavily covered by both ancient and relatively young impact craters both vary in sizes, as well as grooves and ridges. Notably, a prominent ray system is formed from a newly born impact crater, it's called Inktomi or nicknamed as The Splat. The impact crater is located on the southern hemisphere of Rhea and it's age is thought to be around 8 to 280 million years.
==Scientific Significance:==
Rhea has been the target of scientific research and study, particularly by NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission, which explored the Saturnian system from 2004 to 2017. The mission provided data on Rhea's geology, topography, and internal structure.
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