Saturn's Moons Saturn's Moons The dozens of icy moons orbiting Saturn vary drastically in shape, size, surface age and origin. Some of these worlds have hard, rough surfaces, while others are porous bodies coated in a fine blanket of icy particles. All have greater or smaller numbers of craters, and many have ridges and valleys. Some, like Dione and Tethys, show evidence of tectonic activity, where forces from within ripped apart their surfaces. Many, like Rhea and Tethys, appear to have formed billions of years ago, while others, like Janus and Epimetheus, could have originally been part of larger bodies that broke up. To date, 53 moons have been officially named. Astronomers continue to find new small moons orbiting Saturn, using both ground-based observatories and Cassini's own imaging cameras. For more information on the latest moons discovered visit the Recent Discoveries page and the Icy Satellites publications listing. Diversity of Worlds The moons of Saturn are a diverse collection.
True Saturn True Saturn Date: 6 Oct 2004 While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into this large global natural color view of Saturn and its rings. This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between. Three images (red, green and blue) were taken of each of the 42 locations, or "footprints," across the planet. The smallest features seen here are 38 km (24 miles) across. The sun-Saturn-Cassini, or phase, angle at the time was 72 degrees; hence, the partial illumination of Saturn in this portrait.
Moons of Saturn Artist's concepts of the Saturnian ring–moon system Saturn, its rings and major icy moons—from Mimas to Rhea Images of several moons of Saturn. The rings of Saturn are made up of objects ranging in size from microscopic to moonlets hundreds of meters across, each in its own orbit about the planet.[7] Thus a precise number of Saturnian moons cannot be given, as there is no objective boundary between the countless small anonymous objects that form Saturn's ring system and the larger objects that have been named as moons. Discovery and naming[edit] Early observations[edit] Observations by spacecraft[edit] Four moons of Saturn can be seen on this image by the Cassini spacecraft: Huge Titan and Dione at the bottom, small Prometheus (under the rings) and tiny Telesto above center. Five moons in another Cassini image: Rhea bisected in the foreground, Mimas behind it, bright Enceladus above and beyond the rings, Pandora eclipsed by the F Ring, and Janus off to the left. Outer moons[edit] Naming[edit]
Saturn Saturn's interior is probably composed of a core of iron, nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds), surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium and an outer gaseous layer.[15] The planet exhibits a pale yellow hue due to ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than Earth's magnetic field but has a magnetic moment 580 times that of the Earth due to Saturn's larger body radius. Saturn's magnetic field strength is around one-twentieth the strength of Jupiter's.[16] The outer atmosphere is generally bland and lacking in contrast, although long-lived features can appear. Physical characteristics Composite image roughly comparing the sizes of Saturn and Earth Internal structure Saturn is termed a gas giant, but it is not entirely gaseous. Atmosphere Cloud layers North pole hexagonal cloud pattern
Saturn: Moons Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, is home to a vast array of intriguing and unique worlds. From the cloud-shrouded surface of Titan to crater-riddled Phoebe, each of Saturn's moons tells another piece of the story surrounding the Saturn system. Christiaan Huygens discovered the first known moon of Saturn. The year was 1655 and the moon was Titan. As telescopic resolving power increased through the 19th century, Saturn's family of known moons grew. We've discovered a total of 53 natural satellites orbiting Saturn. Here's a sampling of some of the unique aspects of the moons: - Titan is so large that it affects the orbits of other near-by moons. - Iapetus has one side as bright as snow and one side as dark as black velvet, with a huge ridge running around most of its dark-side equator. - Phoebe orbits the planet in a direction opposite that of Saturn's larger moons, as do several of the more recently discovered moons. References:
Rings of Saturn Simulated image using color to present radio occultation-derived information on particle sizes. Radio signals of 0.94, 3.6, and 13 cm wavelengths were sent from Cassini through the rings to Earth. The attenuation of each signal reflects the abundance of particles of sizes similar to the wavelength and larger. Purple (much of the B Ring and the inner A ring) indicates few particles smaller than 5 cm are present, i.e., similar attenuation of all signals. The rings have numerous gaps where particle density drops sharply: two opened by known moons embedded within them, and many others at locations of known destabilizing orbital resonances with Saturn's moons. History[edit] Galileo's work[edit] Galileo first observed the rings in 1610. Early astronomers used anagrams as a form of commitment scheme to lay claim to new discoveries before their results were ready for publication. Ring theory and observations[edit] Physical characteristics[edit] Formation of main rings[edit]
Moons of Saturn Artist's concepts of the Saturnian ring–moon system Saturn, its rings and major icy moons—from Mimas to Rhea Images of several moons of Saturn. The rings of Saturn are made up of objects ranging in size from microscopic to moonlets hundreds of meters across, each in its own orbit about the planet.[7] Thus a precise number of Saturnian moons cannot be given, as there is no objective boundary between the countless small anonymous objects that form Saturn's ring system and the larger objects that have been named as moons. Discovery and naming[edit] Early observations[edit] Observations by spacecraft[edit] Four moons of Saturn can be seen on this image by the Cassini spacecraft: Huge Titan and Dione at the bottom, small Prometheus (under the rings) and tiny Telesto above center. Five moons in another Cassini image: Rhea bisected in the foreground, Mimas behind it, bright Enceladus above and beyond the rings, Pandora eclipsed by the F Ring, and Janus off to the left. Outer moons[edit] Naming[edit]
Saturn l Saturn facts, pictures and information. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest. Planet Profile orbit: 1,429,400,000 km (9.54 AU) from Sundiameter: 120,536 km (equatorial)mass: 5.68e26 kg History of Saturn In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture. Saturn has been known since prehistoric times. Saturn was first visited by NASA's Pioneer 11 in 1979 and later by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Saturn is visibly flattened (oblate) when viewed through a small telescope; its equatorial and polar diameters vary by almost 10% (120,536 km vs. 108,728 km). Saturn is the least dense of the planets; its specific gravity (0.7) is less than that of water. Like Jupiter, Saturn is about 75% hydrogen and 25% helium with traces of water, methane, ammonia and "rock", similar to the composition of the primordial Solar Nebula from which the solar system was formed. Saturn's interior is similar to Jupiter's consisting of a rocky core, a liquid metallic hydrogen layer and a molecular hydrogen layer. much fainter on Saturn.
Moonlet The 400-meter moonlet "Earhart" in Saturn's A Ring, just outside the Encke Gap. Moonlet is an informal term for a particularly small natural satellite. In astronomical literature, it has been used in at least two situations: A belt of objects embedded in a planetary ring, as in Saturn's A Ring or S/2009 S 1 in the B Ring ("propeller" moonlets)[1][2] or in Saturn's F Ring.[3]Occasionally for asteroid moons, such as the moons of 87 Sylvia.[4] See also[edit] References[edit] Further reading[edit] Google Book Search for "moonlet"