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2. S/2004 S26. 2004. 26,737,800. 1,624.2. 4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen. Saturn has the most moons of any planet in the solar system, with more than 140 known as of 2023. Many of these are small satellites that orbit far from Saturn.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Voyager and Pioneer flybys of the 1970s and 1980s provided rough sketches of Saturn’s moons. But during its many years in Saturn orbit, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered previously unknown moons, solved mysteries about known ones, studied their interactions with the rings and uncovered new mysteries – including the discovery on an ocean moon with […]
In Depth. The Voyager and Pioneer flybys of the 1970s and 1980s provided rough sketches of Saturn’s moons. But during its many years in Saturn orbit, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered previously unknown moons, solved mysteries about known ones, studied their interactions with the rings and uncovered new mysteries – including the ...
- Discovery and Naming
- Saturn’s Inner Large Moons
- Saturn’s Large Outer Moons
- Saturn’s Irregular Moons
- Moon Formation
Prior to the invention of telescopic photography, eight of Saturn’s moons were observed using simple telescopes. The first to be discovered was Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, which was observed by Christiaan Huygens in 1655 using a telescope of his own design. Between 1671 and 1684, Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered the moons of Tethys, Dione, Rh...
Saturn’s moons are grouped based on their size, orbits, and proximity to Saturn. The innermost moons and regular moons all have small orbital inclinations and eccentricities and prograde orbits. Meanwhile, the irregular moons in the outermost regions have orbital radii of millions of kilometers, orbital periods lasting several years, and move in re...
The Large Outer Moons, which orbit outside of the Saturn’s E Ring, are similar in composition to the Inner Moons – i.e. composed primarily of water ice, and rock. Of these, Rhea is the second-largest – measuring 1,527 km in diameter and 23×1020kg in mass – and the ninth-largest moon in the Solar System. With an orbital radius of 527,108 km, it is t...
Beyond these larger moons are Saturn’s Irregular Moons. These satellites are small, have large radii, are inclined, have mostly retrograde orbits, and are believed to have been acquired by Saturn’s gravity. These moons are made up of three basic groups – the Inuit Group, the Gallic Group, and the Norse Group. The Inuit Group consists of five irregu...
It is thought that Saturn’s moon of Titan, its mid-sized moons and rings developed in a way that is closer to the Galilean moons of Jupiter. In short, this would mean that the regular moons formed from a circumplanetary disc, a ring of accreting gas, and solid debris similar to a protoplanetary disc. Meanwhile, the outer, irregular moons are believ...
Aug 23, 2023 · Saturn's Two Ocean Moons. Saturn's Rings Have Moonlets. Counting Saturn's Moons. In May 2023, Saturn's moon count skyrocketed to 145 after the International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially recognized the ringed planet's 62 new moons.
Christiaan Huygens discovered the first known moon of Saturn. The year was 1655 and the moon is Titan. Jean-Dominique Cassini made the next four discoveries: Iapetus (1671), Rhea (1672), Dione (1684), and Tethys (1684). Mimas and Enceladus were both discovered by William Herschel in 1789. The next two discoveries came at intervals of 50 or more ...
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Mar 17, 2023 · 2. Saturn is 9 times wider than Earth. ... Though scientists have identified many moons, Saturn has other small moons ... Saturn's aurora was first spotted by NASA's Pioneer 11 spacecraft when it ...
