Aegaeon (moon)
Aegaeon's crescent imaged by the Cassini spacecraft from a distance of 15238.2 km in 2010 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carolyn Porco |
| Discovery date | March 3, 2009 |
| Cassini Imaging Science Team | |
| Designations | |
Designation | Saturn LIII |
| Pronunciation | /iːˈdʒiːɒn/ |
Named after | Αιγαίων Aigaiōn |
| Adjectives | Aegaeonian /iːdʒiːˈoʊniən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 2008 January 1.5 UTC | |
| 167494±4 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.00024±0.00023 |
| 0.808111 d | |
| Inclination | 0.0010°±0.0009° (to Saturn's equator) |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.40 × 0.50 × 0.40 km (± 0.10 × 0.12 × 0.16 km) |
| 0.66±0.12 km | |
| Volume | 0.15 km3 |
| Mass | (7.82±3.00)×1010 kg |
Mean density | 0.539±0.140 g/cm3 |
| 0.009–0.013 mm/s2 (0.9–1.3 micro-g) | |
| 0.001 km/s at longest axis to 0.002 km/s at poles | |
| synchronous | |
| assumed zero | |
| Albedo | ~ 0.15 0.25±0.23 (geometric) |
Aegaeon /iːˈdʒiːɒn/, or Saturn LIII (provisional designation S/2008 S 1), is a natural satellite of Saturn. It has an extremely elongated shape whose surface is thought to be similarly smooth as Methone. It orbits between Janus and Mimas within Saturn's G Ring, in a 7:6 orbital resonance with the latter. Compared to the similar moons Anthe and Methone, which are both in orbital resonances with Mimas, Aegaeon is more tightly trapped in its resonance than the other two. In addition, all three of the moons are associated with arc structures formed from material blasted off their surfaces, but Aegaeon is the smallest among the three while its arc is the brightest.