# @nasa on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BEFMnFaoaOk
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11736792-nasa-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/d64343660e.jpg
- **Posted:** 2016-04-12T01:08:13.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA (@NASA) — https://gondola.cc/NASA

## Caption

Great Divide: It's difficult to get a sense of scale when viewing Saturn's rings, but the Cassini Division (seen here between the bright B ring and dimmer A ring) is almost as wide as the planet Mercury. The 2,980-mile-wide (4,800-kilometer-wide) division in Saturn's rings is thought to be caused by the moon Mimas. Particles within the division orbit Saturn almost exactly twice for every time that Mimas orbits, leading to a build-up of gravitational nudges from the moon. These repeated gravitational interactions sculpt the outer edge of the B ring and keep its particles from drifting into the Cassini Division.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

#nasa #saturn #astronomy #space #nasabeyond #cassini #mimas #science

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## Tags

astronomy, mimas, nasabeyond, science, nasa, space, cassini, saturn

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