Saturn's moons
Saturn has over 60 moons, with a handful discovered thanks to the Cassini mission.
The table below highlights some of the moons already known to exist at Saturn.
Name | Distance to Saturn centre (km) | Diameter (km) | Orbit period (Earth days) | Discovered by |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pan | 133 583 | 20 | 0.58 | Mark R. Showalter. Voyager 2, 1990 |
Atlas | 137 670 | 27 x 37 | 0.60 | R. Terrile. Voyager 1, 1980 |
Prometheus | 139 353 | 68 x 148 | 0.61 | S.A. Collins. D. Carlson. Voyager 1, 1980 |
Pandora | 141 700 | 52 x 110 | 0.63 | S. A. Collins. D. Carlson. Voyager 1, 1980 |
Epimetheus | 151 422 | 110 x 138 | 0.69 | R. Walker. J. Fountain. S. Larson, 1966/1978 |
Janus | 151 472 | 154 x 194 | 0.69 | Audouin Dollfus, 1966 |
Mimas | 185 520 | 383 x 418 | 0.94 | William Herschel, 1789 |
Enceladus | 238 020 | 489 x 513 | 1.37 | William Herschel, 1789 |
Tethys | 294 660 | 1051 x 1071 | 1.89 | G.D. Cassini, 1684 |
Telesto | 294 660 | 15 x 30 | 1.89 | B. Smith. H. Reitsema. S. Larson. J. Fountain, 1980 |
Calypso | 294 660 | 16 x 30 | 1.89 | D. Pascu. P.K. Seidelmann. W. Baum. D. Currie, 1980 |
Dione | 377 400 | 1120 | 2.74 | G.D. Cassini, 1684 |
Helene | 377 400 | 30 x 36 | 2.74 | P. Laques. J. Lecacheus, 1980 |
Rhea | 527 040 | 1528 | 4.52 | G.D. Cassini, 1672 |
Titan | 1 221 830 | 5150 | 15.95 | C. Huygens, 1655 |
Hyperion | 1 481 100 | 225 x 360 | 21.28 | W. & G. Bond. W. Lassell, 1848 |
Iapetus | 3 561 300 | 1436 | 79.33 | G.D. Cassini, 1671 |
Phoebe | 12 952 000 | 220 | 550.48* | W. Pickering, 1898 |
There are another 13 moons without official data. Their names are: Ymir, Paaliaq, Siarnaq, Tarvos, Kiviuq, Ijiraq, Thrym, Skadi/Skathi, Mundilfari, Erriapo, Albiorix, Suttung/Suttungr and S/2003 S1.
* indicates 'retrograde' orbit, i.e. the opposite way to the other moons.