Dione (moon) facts for kids

Dione in front of Saturn's rings.

Dione is the fourth largest moon of Saturn. It has a diameter of 1,123 km (698 miles). It was discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. It is named after the titan Dione in Greek mythology. The moon has many craters and ice cliffs. It is tidally locked with Saturn, meaning the same face of Dione always faces Saturn.

Images for kids

Size comparison of Earth, the Moon, and Dione.
Fractures bisecting older craters on Dione. Those running from upper right to lower left are the Carthage Fossae, whereas Pactolus Catena runs more horizontally at lower right.
Dione before Enceladus
Cassini enhanced-color composite of Dione, showing the darker, fractured terrain of the trailing hemisphere. The Padua Chasmata trace an arc on the left, interrupted near the top by a central peak crater.
Crescent Dione from Cassini, October 11, 2005. The crater near the limb at top is Alcander, with larger crater Prytanis adjacent to its left. At lower right, several of the Palatine Chasmata fractures are visible, one of which can be seen bisecting the smaller craters Euryalus (right) and Nisus.
Close flyby of Dione reveals a highly cratered surface.
Nightside of Dione illuminated by Saturnshine.
Close view of Dione
Closer view of part preceding image
Differently sized and oriented fractures within 60-km crater Amastrus (central peak at lower right). Larger arcuate fractures running from lower left to upper right are the Padua Chasmata, whereas smaller more parallel fractures from lower right to upper left may be related to the Aurunca Chasmata.
Crop of preceding image. The bowl-shaped crater at upper right has bright streaks on its walls, and dark material on its floor. To its lower left can be seen an arcuate fracture postdated (covered) by a small crater's ejecta, which in turn is postdated (incised) by parallel fractures.
Oblique close-up of fractures