This is an image of Rhea.
Click on image for full size
NASA/JPL

Rhea

Rhea was discovered by G. Cassini in 1672. Rhea is the 5th farthest moon from Saturn, with a standoff distance of 527,040 km. It is one of the icy moons, similar to the Galilean satellites. Rhea is about as wide as the state of California is long, with a width of 1500 km (1000 miles).

Rhea is heavily cratered across its leading hemisphere but has wispy white streaks across its trailing hemisphere's surface. In appearance, this moon looks very much like Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys, and is the biggest of the four.

Last modified January 19, 2001 by Jennifer Bergman.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Galilean Satellites

The Galilean satellites are the 4 major moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In this picture, Io, and Io’s surface, are shown on the left-most end, then Europa, and its surface, then Ganymede,...more

Discover Saturn

Like the inner planets and Jupiter, Saturn is clearly visible in the night sky. The ancient Greeks named the planet after the god of agriculture and time. It wasn't until 1655, however, that we knew Saturn...more

Medium-sized Moons of Saturn

Saturn has // Call the moon count function defined in the document head print_moon_count('saturn'); moons. Many of those are tiny chunks of rock or ice only a few kilometers (miles) across. One of Saturn's...more

Large and Medium-sized Moons of Saturn

Saturn has // Call the moon count function defined in the document head print_moon_count('saturn'); moons. Many of those are tiny chunks of rock or ice only a few kilometers (miles) across. One of Saturn's...more

How Titan Formed

In many respects Titan is similar to the other icy moons, but Titan is the only icy moon to have an atmosphere that can be compared to other planets'. It is natural to ask how is this possible since Titan...more

The Environment of Titan, can there be Life?

Titan's atmosphere is a lot like the Earth's, except that it is very cold, from -330 degrees to -290 degrees! Like the Earth, there is a lot of Nitrogen and other complex molecules. There also may be an...more

Pandora

Pandora is a small moon of Saturn. It was discovered by S. Collins and others in 1980 from photos taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Pandora's name comes from Greek mythology. Pandora was the first woman,...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA