The sixtieth satellite of Saturn
Publiée le 2007-07-25
The sixtieth satellite of Saturn
During these last years many small satellites of the big planets were discovered. A recent circular of the International Astronomical Union (IAUC 8857) claims the discovery of the sixtieth Saturn satellite by the CASSINI Image Science team (Space Science Institute, Boulder, USA). This small object which would be of a diameter of approximately 1 km, was discovered on images acquired on 30 May, then found on previous CASSINI observations distributed between June 2004 and June 2007. Its orbit lies between that of the satellite S XXXII Methone and that of the satellite XXXIII Pallene. The semi major axis of its orbit is 197 700 km, its eccentricity is about 0.001, its inclination 0.1 degree and its orbital period is 1.03650 days. The provisional denomination is S/2007 S4.
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