Moons of Saturn

The planet Saturn has 53 named moons, and another 29 which are still being studied.[1] Many of the moons are very small: 33 are less than 10 km (6 mi) in diameter and thirteen moons are less than 50 km (31 mi).[2] Many of the moons are named after Titans, Giants, or minor Greek or Roman gods. Some of Saturn's moons are very large; the moon Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury.

Confirmed moons
The moons of Saturn are listed here by orbital period (or semi-major axis), from shortest to longest. Moons massive enough for their surfaces to have collapsed into a spheroid are highlighted in bold, while the irregular moons are listed in red, orange and gray background.
Key
†
Major icy moons		 ♠
Titan		 ‡
Inuit group		 ♦
Gallic group		 ♣
Norse group

Very recently, there have been 20 new discoveries of moons on saturn that have not yet been named.

Order Label
[lower-alpha 1]		 Name Pronunciation Image Diameter (km)[lower-alpha 2] Mass
(×1015 kg) [lower-alpha 3]		 Semi-major axis (km) [lower-alpha 4] Orbital period (d)[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] Inclination [lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 6] Eccentricity Position Discovery
year		 Discoverer
1S/2009 S/2009 S 1—≈ 0.3< 0.0001≈ 117000≈ 0.47≈ 0°≈ 0outer B Ring2009Cassini
(moonlets)—0.04 to 0.4 (Earhart)< 0.0001≈ 130000≈ 0.55≈ 0°≈ 0Three 1000 km bands within A Ring2006Cassini
2XVIIIPan Pan/ˈpæn/28.2±2.6
(34 × 31 × 20)		4.95±0.75133584+0.575050.001°0.000035in Encke Division1990M. Showalter
3XXXVDaphnis Daphnis/ˈdæfnɪs/7.6±1.6
(9 × 8 × 6)		0.084±0.012136505+0.59408≈ 0°≈ 0in Keeler Gap2005Cassini
4XVAtlas Atlas/ˈætləs/30.2±1.8
(41 × 35 × 19)		6.6±0.045137670+0.601690.003°0.0012outer A Ring shepherd1980Voyager 2
5XVIPrometheus Prometheus/proʊˈmiːθiəs/86.2±5.4
(136 × 79 × 59)		159.5±1.5139380+0.612990.008°0.0022inner F Ring shepherd1980Voyager 2
6XVIIPandora Pandora/pænˈdɔːrə/81.4±3.0
(104 × 81 × 64)		137.1±1.9141720+0.628500.050°0.0042outer F Ring Shepherd1980Voyager 2
7aXIEpimetheus Epimetheus/ɛpɪˈmiːθiəs/116.2±3.6
(130 × 114 × 106)		526.6±0.6151422+0.694330.335°0.0098co-orbital with Janus1977J. Fountain, and S. Larson
7bXJanus Janus/ˈdʒeɪnəs/179.0±2.8
(203 × 185 × 153)		1897.5±0.6151472+0.694660.165°0.0068co-orbital with Epimetheus1966A. Dollfus
9LIIIAegaeon Aegaeon/iːˈdʒiːən/≈ 0.5≈ 0.0001167500+0.808120.001°0.0002G Ring moonlet2008Cassini
10IMimas †Mimas/ˈmaɪməs/396.4±0.8
(416 × 393 × 381)		37493±31185404+0.9424221.566°0.0202 1789W. Herschel
11XXXIIMethone Methone/mɪˈθoʊniː/3.2±1.2≈ 0.02194440+1.009570.007°0.0001Alkyonides2004Cassini
12XLIXAnthe Anthe/ˈænθiː/1.8≈ 0.0015197700+1.050890.1°0.0011Alkyonides2007Cassini
13XXXIIIPallene Pallene/pəˈliːniː/5.0±1.2
(6 × 6 × 4)		≈ 0.05212280+1.153750.181°0.0040Alkyonides2004Cassini
14IIEnceladus †Enceladus/ɛnˈsɛlədəs/504.2±0.4
(513 × 503 × 497)		108022±101237950+1.3702180.010°0.0047Generates the E ring1789W. Herschel
15IIITethys †Tethys/ˈtiːθɪs/1062±1.2
(1077 × 1057 × 1053)		617449±132294619+1.8878020.168°0.0001 1684G. Cassini
15aXIIITelesto Telesto/tɪˈlɛstoʊ/24.8±0.8
(33 × 24 × 20)		≈ 9.41294619+1.8878021.158°0.000leading Tethys trojan1980B. Smith, H. Reitsema, S. Larson, and J. Fountain
15bXIVCalypso Calypso/kəˈlɪpsoʊ/21.4±1.4
(30 × 23 × 14)		≈ 6.3294619+1.8878021.473°0.000trailing Tethys trojan1980D. Pascu, P. Seidelmann, W. Baum, and D. Currie
18IVDione †Dione/daɪˈoʊniː/1122.8±0.8
(1128 × 1123 × 1119)		1095452±168377396+2.7369150.002°0.0022 1684G. Cassini
18aXIIHelene Helene/ˈhɛlɪniː/35.2±0.8
(43 × 38 × 26)		≈ 24.46377396+2.7369150.212°0.0022leading Dione trojan1980P. Laques and J. Lecacheux
18bXXXIVPolydeuces Polydeuces/pɒliˈdjuːsiːz/2.6±0.8
(3 × 2 × 1)		≈ 0.03377396+2.7369150.177°0.0192trailing Dione trojan2004Cassini
21VRhea †Rhea/ˈriːə/1527.0±1.2
(1530 × 1526 × 1525)		2306518±353527108+4.5182120.327°0.001258 1672G. Cassini
22VITitan ♠Titan/ˈtaɪtən/5149.46±0.18
(5149 × 5149 × 5150)		134520000±200001221930+15.945420.3485°0.0288 1655C. Huygens
23VIIHyperion †Hyperion/haɪˈpɪəriən/270±8
(360 × 266 × 205)		5620±501481010+21.276610.568°0.123006in 4:3 resonance with Titan1848W. Bond
G. Bond
W. Lassell
24VIIIIapetus †Iapetus/aɪˈæpɪtəs/1468.6±5.6
(1491 × 1491 × 1424)		1805635±3753560820+79.321515.47°0.028613 1671G. Cassini
25XXIVKiviuq ‡Kiviuq/ˈkɪviək/≈ 16≈ 2.7911294800+448.1649.087°0.3288Inuit group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
26XXIIIjiraq ‡Ijiraq/ˈiːɪrɒk/≈ 12≈ 1.1811355316+451.7750.212°0.3161Inuit group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
27IXPhoebe ♣†Phoebe/ˈfiːbiː/213.0±1.4
(219 × 217 × 204)		8292±1012869700−545.09173.047°0.156242Norse group1899W. Pickering
28XXPaaliaq ‡Paaliaq/ˈpɑːliɒk/≈ 22≈ 7.2515103400+692.9846.151°0.3631Inuit group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
29XXVIISkathi ♣Skathi/ˈskɒði/≈ 8≈ 0.3515672500−732.52149.084°0.246Norse (Skathi) Group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
30XXVIAlbiorix ♦Albiorix/ˌælbiˈɒrɪks/≈ 32≈ 22.316266700+774.5838.042°0.477Gallic group2000M. Holman
31 S/2007A ♣S/2007 S 2—≈ 6≈ 0.1516560000−792.96176.68°0.2418Norse group2007S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna, B. Marsden
32XXXVIIBebhionn ♦Bebhionn/bɛˈviːn/≈ 6≈ 0.1517153520+838.7740.484°0.333Gallic group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
33XXVIIIErriapus ♦Erriapus/ɛriˈæpəs/≈ 10≈ 0.6817236900+844.8938.109°0.4724Gallic group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
34XLVIISkoll ♣Skoll/ˈskɒl/≈ 6≈ 0.1517473800−862.37155.624°0.418Norse (Skathi) group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
35XXIXSiarnaq ‡Siarnaq/ˈsiːɑːrnək/≈ 40≈ 43.517776600+884.8845.798°0.24961Inuit group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
36LIITarqeq ‡Tarqeq/ˈtɑːrkeɪk/≈ 7≈ 0.2317910600+894.8649.904°0.1081Inuit group2007S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
37 S/2004B ♣S/2004 S 13—≈ 6≈ 0.1518056300−905.85167.379°0.261Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
38LIGreip ♣Greip/ˈɡreɪp/≈ 6≈ 0.1518065700−906.56172.666°0.3735Norse group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
39XLIVHyrrokkin ♣Hyrrokkin/hɪˈrɒkɪn/≈ 8≈ 0.3518168300−914.29153.272°0.3604Norse (Skathi) group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
40LJarnsaxa ♣Jarnsaxa/jɑːrnˈsæksə/≈ 6≈ 0.1518556900−943.78162.861°0.1918Norse group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
41XXITarvos ♦Tarvos/ˈtɑːrvəs/≈ 15≈ 2.318562800+944.2334.679°0.5305Gallic group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
42XXVMundilfari ♣Mundilfari/mʊndəlˈværi/≈ 7≈ 0.2318725800−956.70169.378°0.198Norse group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
43 S/2006 ♣S/2006 S 1—≈ 6≈ 0.1518930200−972.41154.232°0.1303Norse (Skathi) group2006S. Sheppard, D.C. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
44 S/2004C ♣S/2004 S 17—≈ 4≈ 0.0519099200−985.45166.881°0.226Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
45XXXVIIIBergelmir ♣Bergelmir/bɛərˈjɛlmɪər/≈ 6≈ 0.1519104000−985.83157.384°0.152Norse (Skathi) group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
46XXXINarvi ♣Narvi/ˈnɑːrvi/≈ 7≈ 0.2319395200−1008.45137.292°0.320Norse (Narvi) group2003S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
47XXIIISuttungr ♣Suttungr/ˈsʊtʊŋɡər/≈ 7≈ 0.2319579000−1022.82174.321°0.131Norse group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
48XLIIIHati ♣Hati/ˈhɑːti/≈ 6≈ 0.1519709300−1033.05163.131°0.291Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
49 S/2004A ♣S/2004 S 12—≈ 5≈ 0.0919905900−1048.54164.042°0.396Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
50XLFarbauti ♣Farbauti/fɑːrˈbaʊti/≈ 5≈ 0.0919984800−1054.78158.361°0.209Norse (Skathi) group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
51XXXThrymr ♣Thrymr/ˈθrɪmər/≈ 7≈ 0.2320278100−1078.09174.524°0.453Norse group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
52XXXVIAegir ♣Aegir/ˈaɪ.ɪər/≈ 6≈ 0.1520482900−1094.46167.425°0.237Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
53 S/2007B ♣S/2007 S 3—≈ 5≈ 0.0920518500≈ −1100177.22°0.130Norse group2007S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
54XXXIXBestla ♣Bestla/ˈbɛstlə/≈ 7≈ 0.2320570000−1101.45147.395°0.5145Norse (Narvi) group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
55 S/2007C ♣S/2004 S 7—≈ 6≈ 0.1520576700−1101.99165.596°0.5299Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
56 S/2006 ♣S/2006 S 3—≈ 6≈ 0.1521076300−1142.37150.817°0.4710Norse (Skathi) group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
57XLIFenrir ♣Fenrir/ˈfɛnrɪər/≈ 4≈ 0.0521930644−1212.53162.832°0.131Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
58XLVIIISurtur ♣Surtur/ˈsɜːrtər/≈ 6≈ 0.1522288916−1242.36166.918°0.3680Norse group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
59XLVKari ♣Kari/ˈkɑːri/≈ 7≈ 0.2322321200−1245.06148.384°0.3405Norse (Skathi) group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
60XIXYmir ♣Ymir/ˈɪmɪər/≈ 18≈ 3.9722429673−1254.15172.143°0.3349Norse group2000B. Gladman, J. Kavelaars, et al.
61XLVILoge ♣Loge/ˈlɔɪ.eɪ/≈ 6≈ 0.1522984322−1300.95166.539°0.1390Norse group2006S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna
62XLIIFornjot ♣Fornjot/ˈfɔːrnjɒt/≈ 6≈ 0.1524504879−1432.16167.886°0.186Norse group2004S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt, J. Kleyna

Unconfirmed moons

The following objects (observed by Cassini) have not been confirmed as solid bodies. It is not yet clear if these are real satellites or merely persistent clumps within the F Ring.

Name Image Diameter (km) Semi-major
axis (km)		 Orbital
period (d)		 Position Discovery year
S/2004 S 6≈ 3–5≈ 140130+0.61801uncertain objects around the F Ring2004
S/2004 S 3/S 4[lower-alpha 7]≈ 3–5≈ 140300≈ +0.6192004

Hypothetical moons

Two moons were claimed to be discovered by different astronomers but never seen again. Both moons were said to orbit between Titan and Hyperion.

  • Chiron which was supposedly sighted by Hermann Goldschmidt in 1861, but never observed by anyone else.
  • Themis was allegedly discovered in 1905 by astronomer William Pickering, but never seen again. Nevertheless, it was included in numerous almanacs and astronomy books until the 1960s.

References
  1. "Saturn: Moons". Solar System Exploration: Planets. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  2. "About Saturn & Its Moons". Cassini Solstice Mission. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-25.

Notes

  1. A confirmed moon is given a permanent designation by the IAU consisting of a name and a Roman numeral. The nine moons that were known before 1900 (of which Phoebe is the only irregular) are numbered in order of their distance from Saturn; the rest are numbered in the order by which they received their permanent designations. Nine small moons of the Norse group and S/2009 S 1 have not yet received a permanent designation.
  2. The diameters and dimensions of the inner moons from Pan through Janus, Methone, Pallene, Telepso, Calypso, Helene, Hyperion and Phoebe were taken from Thomas 2010, Table 3. Diameters and dimensions of Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus are from Thomas 2010, Table 1. The approximate sizes of other satellites are from the website of Scott Sheppard.
  3. Masses of the large moons were taken from Jacobson, 2006. Masses of Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Epimetheus, Janus, Hyperion and Phoebe were taken from Thomas, 2010, Table 3. Masses of other small moons were calculated assuming a density of 1.3 g/cm3.
  4. The orbital parameters were taken from Spitale, et al. 2006, IAU-MPC Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service, and NASA/NSSDC.
  5. Negative orbital periods indicate a retrograde orbit around Saturn (opposite to the planet's rotation).
  6. To Saturn's equator for the regular satellites, and to the ecliptic for the irregular satellites
  7. S/2004 S 4 was most likely a transient clump—it has not been recovered since the first sighting.
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