Space Topics: Saturn
Daphnis (S/2005 S1)
The Keeler Gap Moon
Daphnis, the "Wavemaker Moon"
Among the moons discovered by Cassini is Daphnis. Daphnis orbits within
the narrow Keeler gap at the outer edge of Saturn's A ring, exciting waves in
the edge of the gap. This image was taken on August 1, 2005, from a distance
of 853,000 kilometers. Source
Credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute
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Size: Roughly 7 kilometers
Orbital radius: 136,500 kilometers - 2.26 Saturn radii
- within the Keeler gap in the A ring
Orbital period: 0.594 days - about 1/27 of Titan’s
Discovery: 2005 by C. Porco et al.
Like Pan, Daphnis was discovered on the basis of the wavy features it
excites in the edges of a gap within Saturn's A ring. Daphnis orbits
within the very thin Keeler gap.
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