Craters of Dione Desk Sculpture

Dione is a moon of Saturn that was discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Domenico. It is named after the Titaness Dione of Greek mythology. Dione is the mother of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love and beauty) and is sometimes referred to as an ancient wife of Zeus. Dione’s name is essentially the feminine of the genitive form of the Greek name Zeus. “Dios” translates as “of Zeus”, designating her as his wife.

Known for its “wispy terrain” which was observed by the Voyager space probe in 1980 the Cassini probe flyby of 2004 proved that the “wisps” were in fact bright ice cliffs created by tectonic fractures called chasmata. Dione, also designated as Saturn IV, is in fact a world riven by enormous fractures on its trailing hemisphere.

This desk sculpture pays tribute to this moon and the mythical figure after which it is named.