Original Caption Released with Image:
This image is the most detailed picture of Dactyl taken by the Galileo spacecraft's
camera. The camera fortuitously captured the previously unknown moon at a range of
about 3,900 kilometers (2,400 miles), just over 4 minutes before the spacecraft's closest
approach to Ida. More than a dozen craters larger than 80 meters (250 feet) in diameter
are clearly evident, indicating that Dactyl has suffered numerous collisions from
smaller solar system debris during its history. The larger crater on the terminator is
about 300 meters (1,000 feet) across. At the time this picture was taken, Ida was about
90 kilometers (56 miles) away from the moon, outside this frame to the left and
slightly below center.
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