Pan (moon) facts for kids
Pan amid the rings of Saturn. The 'side' view gives Pan the appearance of being embedded in the rings, although it actually travels within the Encke Gap.
|
|
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. R. Showalter |
| Discovery date | July 16, 1990 |
| Designations | |
| Adjectives | Pandean |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 133,584.0±0.1 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0000144±0.0000054 |
| 0.575050718 days (13.801217 hours) | |
| Inclination | 0.0001°±0.0004° |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 34.4 × 31.4 × 20.8 km |
|
Mean radius
|
14.1 ± 1.3 km |
| Mass | 4.95 ± 0.75 ×1015 kg |
|
Mean density
|
0.42 ± 0.15 g/cm³ |
| 0.0001–0.0018 m/s2 | |
| ~0.006 km/s | |
| synchronous | |
| zero | |
| Albedo | 0.5 |
| Temperature | ~78 K |
Pan is a moon of Saturn. It is the closest moon to the planet, orbiting 133,600 km above Saturn's cloud tops. It was discovered in 1990 by Mark Showalter. He discovered Pan when he was analysing the photos taken by Voyager 2. It orbits inside the Encke gap which it has made Saturn's A Ring.
Pan was named after the Greek god Pan on 16 September 1991. It is also known as Saturn XVIII.
Its mass is in the range 
.
Images for kids
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Pan, photographed by Cassini on March 7, 2017. The thin equatorial ridge is clearly visible.
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Closeup of the Encke Gap, showing the central ringlet that is coincident with Pan's orbit.
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Cassini image showing Pan orbiting in the Encke Gap.
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Equatorial view of Pan from Cassini, with the rings of Saturn surrounding the moon.
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Pan in the center of the image, occupying the Encke Gap in Saturn's rings. Its walnut-like shape is clearly visible.
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Stretched (4x) images, processed in various ways.
_edge-on.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Pan (satélite) para niños
