About Saturn’s MoonsAbout Saturn’s Moons

• 18 known moons• 2 more unconfirmed• The largest moon is Titan

15 of Saturn’s 19 moons

SATURN'S MOONS

SATELLITE # DISTANCE (km) DISCOVERER DATE Pan XVIII 133,583 M. Showalter 1990

Atlas XV 137,640 R. Terrile 1980

Prometheus XVI 139,350 S. Collins 1980

Pandora XVII 141,700 S. Collins 1980

Epimetheus XI 151,422 R. Walker 1966

Janus X 151,472 A. Dollfus 1966

Mamas I 185,520 W. Herschel 1789

Enceladus II 238,020 W. Herschel 1789

Tethys III 294,660 G. Cassini 1684

Telesto XIII 294,660 B. Smith 1980

Calypso XIV 294,660 B. Smith 1980

Dione IV 377,400 G. Cassini 1684

Helene XII 377,400 Laques-Lecacheux 1980

Rhea V 527,040 G. Cassini 1672

Titan VI 1,221,850 C. Huygens 1655

Hyperion VII 1,481,000 W. Bond 1848

Iapetus VIII 3,561,300 G. Cassini 1671

Phoebe IX 12,952,000 W. Pickering 1898

Titan (seen from Saturn)

TitanTitan• 2nd largest moon in solar system• It’s density is 2 g/cm3

• It’s made up of about half rock and half frozen water.

• The atmospheres pressure is 1.5 times Earth’s• 90 to 99% of the gas is Nitrogen. The rest is

methane and very small amounts of hydrogen cyanide and acetylene.

• -180°:turns methane and other gases to liquid• Its orange because of that.

Mimas (seen from Saturn)

MimasMimas

• Nicknamed the “The Death Star”• Creator is named Herschel • It’s so big that it’s gravity pulls

material to keep it in a sphere• Named after a Titan the Hercules

killed

Enceladus (seen from Saturn)

EnceladusEnceladus

• Brightest object in Solar System except the Sun.

• Something has erupted to make the planet so smooth (water, volcanic, etc…)

• Named after a Titan that was killed by Athena

Tethys (seen from Saturn)

Tethys

• Giant Ice cube• Was water at once. It just floated in the air

until it froze• The moon Thetys was a named after a

Titan sea goddess named Thetys

Rhea (seen from Saturn)

RheaRhea• 2nd largest moon of Saturn• 1/3 of the moon’s mass is rock.

The rock is the core. The other 2/3 of the moon is ice.

• Many creators cover the planet.

Hyperion (seen from Saturn)

HyperionHyperion• The largest non-ball shaped object

in the solar system• Being that it isn’t round, scientist

think that it broke off of a larger moon.

• Named after the son of Earth and Uranus

Iapetus (seen from Saturn)

IapetusIapetus• Iapetus’ structure is primarily an

ice ball.• Unlike most of the moons that

orbit around the equator of Saturn, Iapetus orbits from top to bottom.

• Named after the son of Uranus, that is said to be an ancestor to humans.

Phoebe (seen from Saturn)

PhoebePhoebe• Phoebe is 4 times farther than Iapetus

to Saturn• It’s darker tan a lot of Saturn’s moons• It orbits from top to bottom, and not

around the equator• Scientists think that Phoebe is

probably a comet or asteroid captured by Saturn’s Gravity.

Bibliography ~ Solar System• Origin of the Solar System." Pathlights.

http://evolution-facts.org/. 17 May 2006 <http://www.pathlights.com/ce_encyclopedia/03-ss2.htm#Basic%20Theory>.

• Spaulding, Nancy E., and Samuel N. Namowitz. Health Earth Science. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell, 1999. 7-8.

Bibliography ~ Saturn’s Moons• "Debate 3: Where Did the Moon Come From?

(Cont.)." Atropos.as.Arizona.Edu. 16 May 2006 <http://atropos.as.arizona.edu/aiz/teaching/a204/lecture15.html>.

• Knight, David C. 32 Moons the Natural Satellites of Our Solar System. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1974. 57-72.

• "Moons of Saturn." Kids Astronomy. 2006. 19 May 2006 <http://www.kidsastronomy.com/saturn/moons.htm>.

Bibliography ~ Saturn’s Moons• Seal, David. "Solar System Simulator." Nasa.

First Gov. 18 May 2006 <http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/>.

• Spaulding, Nancy E., and Samuel N. Namowitz. Health Earth Science. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell, 1999. 422.