SATURN’S MOONSMA. HAZEL L. LLORANDOBSED 2 - R

THE RINGED PLANET’S SATELLITESSixty-two moons travel around Saturn. They come in a

variety of sizes and compositions, from almost pure ice to rocky material, as well as a combination of both. Their journeys around the ringed planet average from half an Earth day to just over four Earth years.

Saturn's moons formed early in the history of the solar system. One of the moons, Titan, makes up 96 percent of the mass orbiting the planet. 

THEORIES OF THESE MOONS Scientists think that the system may have originally

housed two such moons, but the second broke up, creating the debris that formed the rings and smaller, inner moons.

Another theory suggests that the system originally housed several large moons, similar to Jupiter's Galilean moons, but two fused into Titan. The violent collision could have scattered the debris that would have later drawn together into the smaller moons.

DISCOVERY OF THESE MOONS

The first moon was discovered in 1655. Over the next 200 years, the other seven major

satellites were spotted. By 1997, astronomers on Earth had found 18 moons

in orbit around the planet. The close orbit of NASA's Cassini mission, along with

advances in technology for Earth-based telescopes, enabled the discovery of the rest.

In 1847, British astronomer Sir John Herschel suggested that the moons of Saturn take their names from the Titans. The mythical siblings of the Greek god Cronus — Saturn to the Romans — the Titans battled the Olympian gods and lost. Once the names of the Titans were used, the moons began to be called after other characters from Roman and Greek mythology. Only 53 of Saturn's moons have names; the rest are identified by a numerical designation relating to their year of discovery.

TITAN Titan is the largest of Saturn's moons and the

first to be discovered.

Titan is the only moon in the solar system known to have a significant atmosphere.

Nitrogen and methane extend around the moon 10 times as far into space as Earth's atmosphere, sometimes falling to the surface in the form of methane rain.

This atmosphere makes it one of the best potential candidates for hosting life.

Titan is larger than the planet Mercury, though not nearly as massive.

DIONE Dione is thought to be a dense rocky core

surrounded by water-ice. The tidally locked moon is heavily cratered

not on its leading side but on its back side. Astronomers think a collision could have

spun the moon on its axis. The third-densest of Saturn's 62 moons,

Dione is composed primarily of water ice; scientists have seen hints of "active geologic processes" on the moon including a transient atmosphere and evidence of ice volcanoes.

ENCELADUS Contains more than 70 geysers at its south

pole. Tidal heating causes portions of the icy planet

to melt, spewing icy material into space from its "tiger stripes." The tiny bits of ice travel together to create Saturn's E ring.

The satellite's icy surface makes it one of the brightest objects in the solar system.

Enceladus has geologic activity, simple organic compounds and possibly liquid water beneath its frozen surface, making it incredibly important to the study of potentially habitable environments for life.

HYPERION Hyperion was the last of the major

satellites to be discovered. It is a small moon with an irregular appearance.

The flattened object resembles an elongated potato rather than a sphere, a form that may have been created when an impact demolished a larger moon long ago.

Hyperion has a spongy shape, possibly due to its low density and porous surface. Impacts seem to be absorbed by the moon, and most of the ejecta is thrown into space

IAPETUS Iapetus features light and dark contrasts on its surface, giving the moon a yin-yang shape.

 Iapetus has a walnut-like shape, with its center bulging outward, and a ridge running around its equator.

The moon also contains some of the highest mountains in the solar system.

MIMAS Mimas has a gaping crater that gives the rocky moon a

strong resemblance to fictional Death Star in the "Star Wars" movies.

The impact stands out despite the fact that Mimas is one of the most heavily cratered bodies in the solar system, with overlapping impacts covering the surface.

The smallest and closest orbiting of Saturn's major moons

Mimas is made up primarily of water-ice, but despite its proximity to the planet and resulting tidal heating, the surface of the moon remains unchanged; none of the ice seems to be melting, though such melting occurs on other, more distant moons.

RHEA Rhea is a heavily cratered moon and lacks a core at its center. Instead, the entire body is composed of ice, with traces of rock mixed in, causing it to resemble a dirty snowball.

Rhea is still rather small, about half the size of Earth's moon.

The satellite contains a faint oxygen atmosphere, about 5 trillion times less dense than the one found on Earth, but the only known oxygen atmosphere in the solar system.

TETHYS Tethys travels close to Saturn and

feels the gravitational pull of the planet.

The heat from Saturn may allow the moon's icy surface to melt slightly, filling in craters and other signs of impact.

Made up almost entirely of water ice, the surface is highly reflective. A large crater on the other side of the moon covers nearly two-fifth of the moon's diameter and is nearly the size of Mimas.

THE MINOR MOONS9. Erriapus10. Phoebe11. Janus12. Epimetheus13. Helene14. Telesto15. Calypso16. Kiviuq17. Atlas18. Prometheus19. Pandora20. Pan

21. Ymir22. Paaliaq23. Tarvos24. Ijiraq25. Suttungr26. Mundilfari27. Albiorix28. Skathi29. Siarnaq30. Thrymr31. Narvi32. Methone

33. Pallene34. Polydeuces35. Daphnis36. Aegir37. Bebhionn38. Bergelmir39. Bestla40. Farbauti41. Fenrir42. Fornjot43. Hati

44. Hyrrokkin

45. Kari46. Loge47. Skoll48. Surtur49. Greip50. Jarnsaxa51. Tarqeq52. Anthe53. Aegaeon

THE SMALLER NAMED MOONS OF SATURN ARE AS FOLLOWS:

THE UNNAMED MOONS, IDENTIFIED BY YEAR OF DISCOVERY, ARE:

1. S/2004 S72. S/2004 S123. S/2004 S13

4. S/2004 S175. S/2006 S16. S/2006 S3

7. S/2007 S28. S/2007 S39. S/2009 S1

WHAT WOULD IT BE

LIKE IF WE LIVE IN ONE OF THESE MOONS?