Saturn moon resembles Ravioli in NASA image

According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, these images were taken during one of Cassini’s recent ring grazing orbits, when the spacecraft’s camera was pointing toward Pan.

Launched in 1997, Cassini reached Saturn in 2004.

Like Saturn’s other shepherd moons, Pan plies its way between sections of the giant planet’s rings, clearing out a gap as it goes.

NASA says it has used ground-based radar to locate India’s Chandrayaan-1 moon-orbiting spacecraft, which has been out of contact since 2009.

The Cassini team believes that the new images will help scientists to unravel some of the many questions surrounding Pan, including its distinctive appearance and geology. Saturn’s moon Atlas, which orbits in the outer edge of the A ring, also has a saucer shape.

Cassini imaging chief Carolyn Porco shared some of the images on Twitter and answered questions about the odd shape.

“The detailing in the last images is just astounding”, Porco said.

Scientists believe the original core was about one-third to one-half the present size of the moon.

Since ring particles closer to Saturn than Pan move faster in their orbits, these particles pass the moon and receive a gravitational “kick” from Pan as they do.

Can you spot Pan? It can be found within the 200-mile-wide Encke Gap in Saturn’s A Ring.

And Mimas, which is about 245 miles (395 km) in diameter, looks an terrible lot like the Death Star from the “Star Wars” films, thanks to a giant crater that’s about one-third as wide as the moon itself. For millions of years, Pan has been gathering material onto its surface and kicking material out of its way to form the 325-kilometer-wide gap. The moon creates a dark gap in the rings, known as the Encke Gap. At some point after the moons formed, and maybe even now, the ring material fell on its equator causing the mass.

These are the clearest images ever seen of Pan, named after the flute-playing Greek god of hunters and shepherds. She first saw an image on Twitter.