Saturn's satellites & moons

Enceladus / nasa.gov

Enceladus — is the second satellite in Saturn's orbit. Beneath its surface is a subsurface ocean that ejects water vapor into the atmosphere. They believe this water vapor is what contributes to Saturn's "E-Ring". Above the surface, the satellite is covered in ice. In 2005 the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) observed a heated area in the Southern polar region but after much debate scientist are still baffled as to what is causing it.

Tethys / nasa.gov

Tethys — having a similar large crater near it's Western hemisphere to Enceladus only not as pronounced, Tethys is Saturn's third satellite. It's surface is primarily water-ice and a small amount of rock, there appears to be a small amount of dark material as well but it has yet to be identified. Tethys has the lowest density of the "moons" in the solar system.

Dione / nasa.gov

Dione — is the fourth of Saturn's satellites and is roughly the same orbital distance that Earth's moon has but its orbital resolution is at 2.7 days. The largest amount of impact zones are on its trailing side which is unusual as they typically dominate the leading side, so it is believed that a major impact may have "spun" Dione around at one point. This is mere speculation at this time.

Rhea / nasa.gov

Rhea — Saturn's fifth satellite, has a density of 1.233 times that of liquid water. This leads to the idea that Rhea may be three quarters ice and one quarter rock, the best comparison for this would be a dirty snowball. Originally it was believed that Rhea had a rocky core but recent information from the Cassini orbiter in 2005 changed this idea.

Titan / nasa.gov

Titan — a golden haze surrounds this interesting satellite given to its nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Titan is the only known non-planet to contain an actual atmosphere and is the only other body in our solar system to contain one aside from Earth. However, Titan's atmosphere is much denser then Earth's. In September of 2013, propene (an element found only on Earth and our moon) was detected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Iapetus / nasa.gov

Iapetus — (eye-APP-eh-tuss), is the last of Saturn's satellites. It's Yin Yang of a leading hemisphere of a dark albedo (reflectivity) of 0.3 to 0.5 and its trailing hemisphere of a brighter albedo of 0.5 to 0.6. Around the equator of this satellite is a range of mountains making it look like two "helmets" put together. It is believed that Iapetus is, like Rhea, is three quarters ice and one quarter rock.

Atlas / wikimedia.org

Atlas — at 20 miles in diameter, Atlas has a strange "flying saucer" type shape and it orbits at the outer edge of Saturn's A ring. It's albedo registers at a .4 level which is similar to that of a C- or D-class asteroid and was discovered from photos sent back by Voyager I in 1980.

Daphnis / nasa.gov

Daphnis — the existence of Daphnis was known by the "waves" that were noticed in Saturn's A ring but it was not fully confirmed until the Cassini probe sent back images in 2005. Approximately 4 miles across, this small moon sculpts the edge of the Keeler Gap making waves in the particles there.

Hyperion / nasa.gov

Hyperion — the largest of Saturn's irregularly shaped moons, Hyperion is approximately 83 miles (135 km) in size. Roughly the shape of a potato, it is believed to have belonged to another moon at one point and was broken off by a major impact. It has a chaotic orbit unpredictably tumbling around Saturn and is kept this way by the resonance (gravitational influence) of Saturn's Titan.

Pan / nasa.gov

Pan — is approximately 8 miles (14 km) in size and is responsible for the Encke Gap (200-mile gap in Saturn's A-ring). It creates "wakes" in the ring during its orbit around the planet taking about 13 hours to complete. This moon, like Atlas, has a flying saucer-type shape.

Pandora / nasa.gov

Pandora — shaped like a potato like Hyperion, is approximately 25 miles (40 km) in size. It is covered in a dust-sized icy material all over its surface and is located near Saturn's F-ring. It has an orbital time of approximately 15 hours to complete.

Prometheus / wikimedia.org

Prometheus — occupies the inner part of Saturn's F-ring. Extremely irregular and potato like in its shape it is covered in craters that are up to 12 miles (20 km) in size. It is believed that its surface is porous because of its low density. It Is approximately 26 miles (43 km) in size and has an orbital time of about 14 hours around the planet.

Telesto / nasa.gov

Calypso, Telesto, & Tethys — Calypso "trails" after Tethys which is lead by Telesto about 60 degrees. These small moons are approximately 14 to 15 miles (23 to 24 km) across in size and are irregularly shaped as most Saturnian moons are.

Epimetheus / nasa.gov

Epimetheus & Janus — is in a co-orbit with Janus and strangely enough switches places. There is approximately 50 km (31 miles) difference between them so there is no danger of collision between the two. Every four years these two moons switch orbits and the inner moon becomes the outer moon and vise versus.

Helene / nasa.gov

Helene, Dione, & Polydeuces — Helene co-orbits with Dione which in turn is trailed by Polydeuces and is located at a Lagrange Point, basically it is a gravitational pull between the planet and a larger moon is balanced keeping smaller moons between them in their orbital placement. All three moons are irregularly shaped take approximately 2 days to complete their orbit around Saturn.