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Credit & Copyright: Mohammad Ranjbaran;
MR Thanks:
Amir Ehteshami
Explanation:
How many moons does Saturn have?
So far 82 have been confirmed, the smallest being only a fraction
of a kilometer across.
Six of its largest satellites can be seen here
in a
composite image
with 13 short exposure of the bright planet, and
13 long exposures of the brightest of its faint moons,
taken over
two weeks last month.
Larger than Earth's Moon and even slightly larger than
Mercury,Saturn's largest moon
Titan has a diameter of 5,150 kilometers and was captured making
nearly a complete orbit around its
ringed parent planet.
Saturn's first known natural satellite, Titan was
discovered in 1655 by
Dutch astronomer
Christiaan Huygens, in contrast with several
newly discovered moons announced in 2019.
The trail on the far right belongs to
Iapetus, Saturn's third largest moon.
The radius of
painted Iapetus' orbit is so large
that only a portion of it was captured here.
Saturn leads Jupiter across the night sky
this month, rising soon after sunset toward the southeast,
and remaining visible until
dawn.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Saturn - Saturn's Moon
Publications with words: Saturn - Saturn's Moon
See also: