The Moons of Saturn
Saturn has 62 known moons on verified orbits but only 53 have been officially named so far. Thirteen of these moons have diameters of more than 31 miles, thick rings and very complex orbital motions. Saturn’s moons range in size from small moonlets of less than a mile of diameter to big ones that are larger than planets like Mercury. 24 of these moons are classified as regular satellites as they have prograde orbits. The other 38 are small, except Phoebe, irregular satellites orbiting far from Saturn, highly inclined and consists of mixed prograde and retrograde. The most documented Saturn’s moons are Titan, Enceladus and, Rhea which are huge and have shown possibility of liquid water.
Titan (Saturn VI)
Titan is the largest of Saturn’s moon (3,201 miles in diameter) and has a dense atmosphere with evidence of surface liquid. Commonly described as a planet-like moon, it is 50% larger than earth’s moon and larger than Mercury. Observations reveal that Titan orbits Saturn once every 15 days and 22 hours and if a person is standing on its surface, Saturn subtends an arc of 5.09 degrees. The surface is smooth but some areas have mountains and craters. Titan is tidally …show more content…
With a surface covered by rock and ice, this moon is one of the most reflective bodies in the solar system. Scientists describe Enceladus shape as scalene ellipsoid orbiting 147886.344 miles from Saturn’s center and 111846.82 miles from its clouds making complete round every 32.9 hours thus making it observable throughout the night. At an orbital eccentricity of 0.0047, Enceladus orbits within Saturn’s E ring and replenishes the ring’s content, it also rotates synchronously with its orbital period keeping a single side facing Saturn. There is documented evidence of liquid water from underground salty water deposits (approximately 6 miles thick) and geysers near the south
Saturn has 62 known moons on verified orbits but only 53 have been officially named so far. Thirteen of these moons have diameters of more than 31 miles, thick rings and very complex orbital motions. Saturn’s moons range in size from small moonlets of less than a mile of diameter to big ones that are larger than planets like Mercury. 24 of these moons are classified as regular satellites as they have prograde orbits. The other 38 are small, except Phoebe, irregular satellites orbiting far from Saturn, highly inclined and consists of mixed prograde and retrograde. The most documented Saturn’s moons are Titan, Enceladus and, Rhea which are huge and have shown possibility of liquid water.
Titan (Saturn VI)
Titan is the largest of Saturn’s moon (3,201 miles in diameter) and has a dense atmosphere with evidence of surface liquid. Commonly described as a planet-like moon, it is 50% larger than earth’s moon and larger than Mercury. Observations reveal that Titan orbits Saturn once every 15 days and 22 hours and if a person is standing on its surface, Saturn subtends an arc of 5.09 degrees. The surface is smooth but some areas have mountains and craters. Titan is tidally …show more content…
With a surface covered by rock and ice, this moon is one of the most reflective bodies in the solar system. Scientists describe Enceladus shape as scalene ellipsoid orbiting 147886.344 miles from Saturn’s center and 111846.82 miles from its clouds making complete round every 32.9 hours thus making it observable throughout the night. At an orbital eccentricity of 0.0047, Enceladus orbits within Saturn’s E ring and replenishes the ring’s content, it also rotates synchronously with its orbital period keeping a single side facing Saturn. There is documented evidence of liquid water from underground salty water deposits (approximately 6 miles thick) and geysers near the south