ESA - Space Science - Images of Saturn’s small moons tell the story of their origins

Space Science

About Space Science ESA's 'Cosmic Vision'Science & Technology in-depth

Multimedia

Science images Science videos Animations Downloads Sounds from space

Media centre

Press Releases Press kits ESA Television

Resources

Reference section Glossary FAQs

Science missions

Services

Help Legal disclaimer Comments Subscribe

RSS feeds

ESA Sci on Twitter

Article Images

Images of Saturn’s small moons tell the story of their origins

7 December 2007

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES JPG (Size: 45 kb)

The highest resolution images of Pan and Atlas reveal distinctive “flying saucer” shapes created by prominent equatorial ridges not seen on the other small moons of Saturn.

From left to right: a view of Atlas' trailing hemisphere, with north up, at a spatial scale of about 1 km/ pixel; Atlas seen at about 250 m/per pixel from mid-southern latitudes, with the sub-Saturn hemisphere at the top and leading hemisphere to the left; Pan's trailing hemisphere seen at about 3 km per pixel from low southern latitudes; an equatorial view, with Saturn in the background, of Pan's anti-Saturn hemisphere at about 1 km per pixel.

On Atlas, the ridge extends 20 to 30° in latitude on either side of the equator; on Pan, its latitudinal extent is 15 to 20°. Atlas shows more asymmetry than Pan in having a more rounded ridge in the leading and sub-Saturn quadrants.

The heights of the ridges can be crudely estimated by assuming (ellipsoidal) shapes that lack ridges and vary smoothly cross the equator. Heights of Atlas' ridge range from about 3 km at 270° west to 5 km at 180° and 0°. Pan's ridge reaches about 4 km at 0° west, and is about 1.5 km high over most of the rest of the equator.

The ridges represent about 27% of Atlas' volume and 10% of Pan's volume.

The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera between 2005 and 2007. Pan is 33 km across at its equator and 21 km across at its poles; Atlas is 39 km across at its equator and 18 km across at its poles.

Credits: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Back to article

Download:

HI-RES JPG (Size: 57 kb)

The highest resolution images of Pan and Atlas reveal distinctive “flying saucer” shapes created by prominent equatorial ridges not seen on the other small moons of Saturn.

The ridges represent about 27% of Atlas' volume and 10% of Pan's volume.

At Saturn and Titan

Planetary scientists close in on Saturn’s elusive rotation Organic ‘building blocks’ discovered in Titan’s atmosphere Cassini-Huygens - celebrating 10 years since launch Cassini’s new view of land of lakes and seas Cassini on the trail of a runaway mystery Cassini on the trail of a runaway mystery - more images Saturn’s moon Iapetus is the Yin-Yang of the Solar System Fasten your seat belts, turbulence ahead - lessons from Titan Possible origin of Saturn's mysterious G ring The latest on titan Two more active moons around Saturn Cassini images bizarre hexagon on Saturn Enceladus geysers mask the length of Saturn’s day