Astronomy Picture of the Day
    

Keyword: Epimetheus
Ìàëåíüêèé ñïóòíèê Ýïèìåòåé Small Moon Epimetheus
29.04.2005

Small saturnian moon Epimetheus (ep-ee-MEE-thee-us) is at most 116 kilometers across. Its cratered surface and irregular shape are highlighted by dramatic shadows in this composite close-up image from the Cassini spacecraft. However, orbiting 91,000 kilometers above Saturn's cloud tops, Epimetheus is not alone.



Ýïèìåòåé è ßíóñ: âåðíûå ñïóòíèêè Ñàòóðíà Epimetheus and Janus: Interchangeable Moons of Saturn
2.11.2005

These two moons change places. Epimetheus and Janus, two small moons of Saturn, actually switch positions as they orbit their home planet. The orbital radii of the moons are strangely separated by less than the radii of the moons themselves: about 50 kilometers. One moon orbits Saturn well ahead of the other, at first.





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