Line #59 UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfSaturn


1	->''"You're not gonna believe this, I went to Phoebe instead of Titan. It's like, hello Saturn, after 10 moons it's time to stop naming and start numbering."''
2	-->-- '''Rick Sanchez''', ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''
3
4	[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Quadruple_Saturn_moon_transit_4907.jpg]]
5
6	You think ''[[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfJupiter Jupiter]]'' has a lot of moons? Well, ''UsefulNotes/{{Saturn}} has'' '''''146 of them!''''' 53 of these have official names, and 7 of them have enough mass to become spherical under their own gravity. Technically the rings could be considered conglomerations of millions of moons, but there's only so much space on the Internet. They were originally all named after Titans of the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek myths]], (the Roman god Saturn being roughly equivalent to the Greek Kronos, king of the Titans)[[note]]The Roman mythology didn't focus as much on the doings of the gods as the Greeks did, and so the Roman story of the Titans and the Titanomachy was basically lifted wholesale from the Greeks, but Saturn was a preexisting figure in the mythology and seems to have fairly consistently been the father of Jupiter.[[/note]] but so many have been discovered that they ran out of Titans, and thus the outer "irregular" moons have been divided into the "Gallic", "Norse" and "Inuit" groups after the sources of their names.
7
8	The low density of these moons, at least the largest ones, suggests that, like Saturn's rings, they are primarily composed of water ice with a more or less large proportion of rock. Most of the larger ones might even have formed from left-over debris created when two or more moons collided ~100 million years with the rings consisting of remnants from this event.
9
10	!!The Ringleaders: Pan, Daphnis, Atlas, Prometheus, etc.
11
12	Small moons that orbit near (or sometimes between) {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}}'s various rings. They're also known as "shepherd moons" because they keep the particles that make up the rings in line. These moons are only a few kilometers in diameter, as this close to Saturn (i.e. within the Roche limit) anything larger would get slowly torn apart. ''Voyager'' and ''Cassini'' have taken pictures of the various kinks, twists and waves inflicted on the rings by their gravitational wakes.
13
14	Two of the largest of Saturn's inner moons, Janus and Epimetheus, are co-orbital. This means that when one of the moons catches up to the other, it gets sped up and the other slows down on their paths around Saturn. This is the only such configuration in the Solar System.
15
16	!![[ThatsNoMoon That's No Space Station]], That's Mimas!
17	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Mimas_Cassini_3036.jpg]]
18	[floatboxright:
19	'''Profile'''
20	* Diameter: 396 km
21	* Mass: 0.0000063 of Earth
22	* Density: 1.15 g/cm3
23	* Surface Gravity: 0.006 g
24	* Semi-major Axis: 185,539 km from Saturn
25	* Orbital Period: 23 Hours
26	* Rotational Period: 23 Hours (Tidally Locked)
27	* Axial Tilt: 1.57° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
28	* Average Surface Temperature: -209° C
29	* Notable Features: Herschel Crater
30	* Discovered: 1789 by Frederick William Herschel
31	]
32
33	A small moon[[note]]Mimas is the smallest object in the Solar System known to be spherical due to its own gravity.[[/note]] that got hit by a big rock at some point and just barely avoiding breaking up. This had led the moon to resemble [[Franchise/StarWars the Death Star]], with a 130-km crater named Herschel that almost exactly corresponds to the fictional space station's laser dish.[[note]]The ''Voyager'' probes discovered the crater three years after the original ''Star Wars'' was released, so whatever the faults of Creator/GeorgeLucas are, plagiarism isn't one of them. At least, [[Film/TheHiddenFortress not this time]].[[/note]] The impact was probably also large enough to affect Mimas' orbit, as its eccentricity and inclination are both unusually high.[[note]]meaning it has a very elongated orbit at a large angle from Saturn's equator[[/note]] It's also slightly egg-shaped, with the long end pointed toward {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} and in an 2:1 orbital resonance with Tethys. Making two orbits around Saturn for every single done by Tethys but the small size of the two and distance between them means that they aren't affecting each other that much. It's also responsible for clearing the so called Cassini Division between Saturns A and B rings. Bizarrely, a temperature map produced by NASA showed that the warmer regions of the moon [[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100329153533.htm looks like Pac-Man]].
34
35	Its surface features (apart from Herschel) are named after people and places from Myth/ArthurianLegend (Avalon Chasma, the crater Galahad, etc.).
36
37	!![[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfJupiter Europa]] Two: Enceladus
38	[[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/170px-Enceladusstripes_cassini_3861.jpg]]
39	[floatboxright:
40	'''Profile'''
41	* Diameter: 504 km
42	* Mass: 0.000018 of Earth
43	* Density: 1.61 g/cm3
44	* Surface Gravity: 0.01 g
45	* Semi-major Axis: 237,948 km from Saturn
46	* Orbital Period: 33 Hours
47	* Rotational Period: 33 Hours (Tidally Locked)
48	* Axial Tilt: 0.009° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
49	* Average Surface Temperature: -198° C
50	* Notable Features: The Tiger Stripes, Possible Sub-surface Ocean
51	* Discovered: 1789 by Frederick William Herschel
52	]
53
54	Just like the Jovian moon, Enceladus is suspected to hide an ocean of liquid water underneath its surface, due to water vapour eruptions from Enceladus's many cryovolcanic vents. This was confirmed in September 2015 when it was determined that Enceladus's surface was shifting significantly relative to its interior, and have concluded its hypothetical subsurface ocean is global. ''Cassini'' flew through and found evidence of complex organic molecules. That, in addition to the discovery that the Enceladan water is ''salty'', makes it a '''possible''' marker for life. By virtue of being covered with ice, it is the most reflective object in the Solar System. Enceladus is smaller than [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfJupiter Europa]] and has almost no surface gravity, which is why streams of water and steam bursting from cracks in the ice become long, impressive plumes.
55
56	Like Mimas and Tethys. Enceladus is in an 2:1 orbital resonance with another mid-size moon. Namely Dione and their gravitational interactions are believed to fuel Enceladus' cryovolcanism.
57
58	Its surface features are named after people and places from the stories of the ''Literature/ArabianNights'' (Baghdad Sulcus, the crater Sindbad, etc.).
59
60	!!Ithaca is Gorges: Tethys
61	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px-PIA07738_Tethys_mosaic_contrast-enhanced_1092.jpg]]
62	[floatboxright:
63	'''Profile'''
64	* Diameter: 1,062 km
65	* Mass: 0.000103 of Earth
66	* Density: 0.984 g/cm3
67	* Surface Gravity: 0.01 g
68	* Semi-major Axis: 294,619 km from Saturn
69	* Orbital Period: 45 Hours
70	* Rotational Period: 45 Hours (Tidally Locked)
71	* Axial Tilt: 1.12° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
72	* Average Surface Temperature: -187° C
73	* Notable Features: Ithaca Chasma, Odysseus Crater
74	* Discovered: 1684 by Giovanni Cassini
75	]
76
77	A mid-size moon marked by a very long (2000km), very wide (100km) and very deep (3-5km) canyon system, Ithaca Chasma. Some scientists theorized that Tethys used to have subsurface liquid water before it all froze solid, causing the surface to "crack". In fact, this moon has the lowest density of all major ones of the Solar System which indicates it's mostly composed of water ice with just a bit of "contamination" by rocky materials.
78
79	Tethys is an 2:1 orbital resonance with Mimas, and like its partner also has a very big crater called Odysseus, which is 400 km in diameter (or approximately 2/5 of Tethys'). It is much shallower than Mimas's Herschel though. Two smaller, irregular, "Trojan" moons, Telesto and Calypso, also share the same orbit around {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} as Tethys. Also like Mimas, a thermal map of Tethys shows Pac-Man.
80
81	Its surface features are named after people and places from ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' (the aforementioned Ithaca Chasma, the crater Telemachus, etc.).
82
83	[[TagLine Some... thing is wrong on]] Film/Saturn3[[note]]At least, in the novelization, it was Tethys. The script had it on Titan, [[ScienceMarchesOn but that's an ill fit these days]].[[/note]].
84
85	!!A Cracking Good Time at Dione
86	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/250px-Dione_color_4527.jpg]]
87	[floatboxright:
88	'''Profile'''
89	* Diameter: 1,122 km
90	* Mass: 0.000328 of Earth
91	* Density: 1.48 g/cm3
92	* Surface Gravity: 0.02 g
93	* Semi-major Axis: 377,396 km from Saturn
94	* Orbital Period: 2.7 Days
95	* Rotational Period: 2.7 Days (Tidally Locked)
96	* Axial Tilt: 0.02° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
97	* Average Surface Temperature: -186° C
98	* Notable Features: Eurotas and Palatine Chasmata
99	* Discovered: 1684 by Giovanni Cassini
100	]
101
102	Another mid-size moon with surface features (cracks, troughs, smooth plains, rises and depressions) which seems to indicate past or present tectonic or volcanic activities. Pictures from the ''Voyager'' probes showed wispy white lines that were thought to be frost; ''Cassini'' proved them to be cliffs hundreds of meters high. Like Tethys, it also has orbit-mates, or Trojan moons — Helene and Polydeuces are irregular lumps of rock. It's also believed to be responsible for the cryovolcanism seen on Enceladus due to their 2:1 orbital resonance. But whether Enceladus affects it the same way is unknown.
103
104	Its surface features are named after people and places from ''Literature/TheAeneid'' (Carthage Fossae, the crater Aeneas, etc.).
105
106	!!Like Saturn, Like Rhea
107	[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/275px-PIA07763_Rhea_full_globe5_3964.jpg]]
108	[floatboxright:
109	'''Profile'''
110	* Diameter: 1,527 km
111	* Mass: 0.00039 of Earth
112	* Density: 1.24 g/cm3
113	* Surface Gravity: 0.02 g
114	* Semi-major Axis: 527,108 km from Saturn
115	* Orbital Period: 4 Days
116	* Rotational Period: 4 Days (Tidally Locked)
117	* Axial Tilt: 0.34° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
118	* Average Surface Temperature: -197° C
119	* Notable Features: Yamsi Chasmata, Tirawa Basin, Inktomi Crater, possible ring system
120	* Discovered: 1672 by Giovanni Cassini
121	]
122
123	The second-largest Saturnian moon[[note]]and larger than pretty much every other moon in the Solar System except for our own, the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, Neptune's Triton and, just barely, the Uranian moon Titania[[/note]] and the only spherical one to not be in an orbital resonance or show any evidence to ever have been in one. It's named after the Wife of Saturn in mythology. The most interesting feature of this otherwise heavily-cratered moon is... a large crater, called Tirawa, with bright rays radiating outwards. Perhaps to compensate for general boringness Rhea, like {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}}, may have a ring system (the only moon in the Solar System which would). The rings, however, would be very dark and very tenuous and ''Cassini'' ended up finding no trace of them.
124
125	Its surface features are named after elements from non-European creation myths (the craters [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Izanagi and Izanami]], Kunlun Linea, etc.).
126
127	[[http://uk.io9.com/5699149/saturns-moon-rhea-may-have-a-breathable-atmosphere Rhea has a thin atmosphere]]. (And by "thin", we mean "more rarefied than a laboratory vacuum".)
128
129	!!Orange Haze All Up on Titan
130	[[quoteright:294:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1titan_in_natural_color_cassini_606.jpg]]
131	[floatboxright:
132	'''Profile'''
133	* Diameter: 5,149 km
134	* Mass: 0.0225 of Earth
135	* Density: 1.88 g/cm3
136	* Surface Gravity: 0.14 g
137	* Semi-major Axis: 1,221,870 km from Saturn
138	* Orbital Period: 15 Days
139	* Rotational Period: 15 Days (Tidally Locked)
140	* Axial Tilt: 0.34° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°)
141	* Average Surface Temperature: -179° C
142	* Atmospheric Pressure: 1.45 atm
143	* Notable Features: Shangri-La, Kraken Mare, Ontario Lacus, Selk Crater
144	* Discovered: 1655 by Christiaan Huygens
145	* Number of Total Missions: 1
146	]
147
148	The second biggest moon in UsefulNotes/{{the Solar System}} (after [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfJupiter Jupiter's Ganymede]]) [[note]]Before the era of space probes it was believed to be the biggest, since its high reflectivity gave a false impression of its size[[/note]] and comprising 96% of all mass in orbit around {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}}. Despite its size (larger than {{UsefulNotes/Mercury}}), it only has one-seventh the Earth's gravity and its bulk density is less than twice that of water — there's a lot of ice and rock mixed in. Nevertheless it is the only Saturnian moon with a gravitational pull comparable to our own, as well as to the Galilean moons; on all the others the gravity is so low that even basic locomotion would be challenging.
149
150	It's covered in a thick hydrocarbon haze[[note]]Here on Earth, we call it "smog"[[/note]], making it the only moon to have a full-blown atmosphere. It's also the only known celestial body in the Solar System, apart from Earth, to have both a solid surface and basins of liquid on it. Unlike Earth's oceans, the liquids in question are light hydrocarbons, mostly methane and ethane — basically the same stuff that the atmosphere is made of. [[note]]If oxygen comes into contact with the air on Titan, you won't have time to say, "Oh, the humanity!" as it ignites violently.[[/note]] As a bonus, Titan's equatorial regions are abundant in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_%28moon%29#Dark_terrain massive dunefields]], the largest of the Solar System, whose grains are thought to be made of organic compounds too, maybe with a core of water ice.
151
152	Its orbit is also somewhat unusual due having an high degree of eccentricity yet no resonance partner that would explain it (it's in an 4:3 resonance with Hyperion. But the sponge is way to small to affect Titan to any significant degree). Its possibly it used to be in one with Iapetus prior to whatever caused the later to get thrown out to its current position. As it would explain booth their eccentricities. Its significant size also causes the so called Colombo gap in the rings due being in resonance with a small ringlet embedded inside of it.
153
154	Due to its uniqueness, Titan [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_in_fiction occasionally appears in fiction]].
155
156	''Cassini'' carried [[DropShip an atmospheric entry probe]], ''Huygens'' (built and managed by the [[UsefulNotes/{{ESA}} European Space Agency]] and named after the discoverer of this moon), along on its trip to the system. On its way there [[OhCrap the mission control team realized the Doppler shift caused by the differing velocities of Cassini and Huygens would cause its radio signals to become unreadable]]. They changed ''Huygens''[='=] approach vector to reduce the shift, and the data and pictures were successfully transmitted as the probe parachuted east of the Adiri region[[note]]see Titan map with the probe's landing site marked [[https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20713 here]][[/note]]. Unfortunately, half of them were never picked up because a programming error prevented ''Cassini'' from listening to one of the two data channels; nevertheless the pictures revealed a strangely Earth-like landscape of what looked like hills and sand dunes, drainage channels, islands and seas (all produced by hydrocarbons). After landing, pictures taken by ''Huygens'' from the surface showed a gloomy, orange-tinted plain covered with "ice pebbles" and a thick hydrocarbon fog. To date, these images are the most distant ones captured from a celestial body other than Earth and the Moon. The ''Huygens'' probe also carried a microphone, becoming the second probe after ''Venera 14'' did so on Venus back in the 80s to record audio from a world other than Earth [[note]]the ''Phoenix'' Polar Lander on UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} carried a microphone, but it was never switched on. Before that, the Mars Polar Lander was fitted with a microphone but that probe failed to land.[[/note]]. This mission will be followed by NASA's ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfly_(spacecraft) Dragonfly]]'' rotorcraft drone, expected to be launched if everything goes as planned next decade.
157
158	Similar to UsefulNotes/{{Venus}}, the thick haze layer on Titan renders any optical observation of its surface from orbit impossible, so outside of close-up images taken from the ''Huygens'' lander, the map of Titan was constructed using ''Cassini'''s radar imaging instrument. The actual surface wouldn't appear reddish-orange (that's due to its atmosphere), but rather a combination of whites, grays and the occasional black patches due to its mostly icy composition, similar to the other icy moons in the outer Solar System.
159
160	The lakes, craters and drainage channels on Titan are named after lakes and rivers from Earth (e.g. Ontario Lacus), while other features are named after sacred and enchanted places on Earth and deities of peace, happiness, beauty and wisdom (Shangri-La, Ganesa Macula, etc.). Titanian ''planitia'' (low plains) are named after planets from Creator/FrankHerbert's ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' (e.g. Arrakis Planitia, Caladan Planitia, etc.), and its mountains' names come from Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium (e.g. Erebor Montes, Doom Mons, etc.).
161
162	* ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'': Vincent is faking Jerome's identity to get into the space program--specifically an expedition to Titan. When Jerome wants to know what Titan is like, Vincent blows cigarette smoke into a wine glass to simulate the smoggy world, puzzling Jerome as to why anyone would want to go there.
163	* ''Film/ThePuppetmasters'': The invading mind-controlling slugs come from that world, and the novel ends with a human expedition being sent to attack it.
164	* ''Film/TheTitan'' involves a project to genetically transform humanity so Titan can be colonised.
165	* Creator/JamesPHogan's duology ''Code of the Lifemaker'' and ''The Immortality Option'' is about a civilisation descended from alien mining robots that got slightly fried on an interstellar voyage to Titan, and as a result ended up as a part of a diverse MechanicalEcosystem rather than just being an automated mining operation.
166	* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' takes place on a colony, referred to as the Sprawl, set up on Titan, and Issac Clark has to once again contain [[ZombieApocalypse the Necromoprph outbreak]] that was unleashed by [[ArtifactOfDoom the Marker]] stashed in the Sprawl.
167	* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans1996'': The alien race that the protagonists are hybrids of, the H'san Natall, are situated on Titan. This makes the meaning of the team a little different since the team are literally "Teen(agers from) Titan".
168	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' reveals that Titan has been colonized by humans.
169
170	!![[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob Not-So-Square-Moon]]: Hyperion
171	[[quoteright:190:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/190px-Hyperion_false_color_371.jpg]]
172	[floatboxright:
173	'''Profile'''
174	* Diameter: 270 km
175	* Mass: 5.6199×10^18kg
176	* Density: 0.544 g/cm3
177	* Surface Gravity: 0.017–0.021 m/s2 (depending on location)
178	* Semi-major Axis: 1,481,009 km km from Saturn
179	* Orbital Period: 21 Days
180	* Rotational Period: Various (averages around 13 days)
181	* Axial Tilt: Unmeasurable
182	* Average Surface Temperature: −180 C° C
183	* Notable Features: Chaotic rotation, Very low density with a high degree of porosity
184	* Discovered: 1848 by William Bond, George Bond, and William Lassell
185	]
186
187	A small irregular moon (smaller than Mimas) shaped and colored like a sponge. Hyperion is notable for being the only moon in the solar system to have a "chaotic rotation"[[note]]At least until the ''New Horizons'' probe discovered the same happens with four of the five moons of Pluto[[/note]], meaning it lacks poles (no, not the Central European kind, though it lacks those, too[[note]]Even if [[WebComic/{{Polandball}} Poland could into space]], no human has gotten even remotely close to Saturn[[/note]]) or a stable axis of rotation. This essentially makes Hyperion's orientation in space unpredictable. A very hyperactive moon, indeed.
188
189	The moon is also notable for having one of the highest degrees of porosity in the solar system. With 46% of its volume being made up of empty space. It's also in an 4:3 Orbital resonance with titan and located very close to its partner. Causing it to be stuck in a tug-of-war between it and Saturn itself and which would probably also cause its current rotation.
190
191	Its surface features are named after solar and lunar deities (e.g. the crater Helios).
192
193	!!Yin and Yang OR the Frosted Walnut: Iapetus
194	[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Iapetus_as_seen_by_the_Cassini_probe_-_20071008_5257.jpg]]
195	[floatboxright:
196	'''Profile'''
197	* Diameter: 1,469 km
198	* Mass: 0.00030 of Earth
199	* Density: 1.09 g/cm3
200	* Surface Gravity: 0.02 g
201	* Semi-major Axis: 3,560,820 km from Saturn
202	* Orbital Period: 79 Days
203	* Rotational Period: 79 Days (Tidally Locked)
204	* Axial Tilt: 17.28° to Ecliptic Plane, 15.47° to Saturn's Equator (26.73°), 8.13° to Laplace Plane
205	* Average Surface Temperature: -163° C
206	* Notable Features: Equatorial Ridge, Cassini Regio, Engelier Crater
207	* Discovered: 1671 by Giovanni Cassini
208	]
209
210	Famously very white on its trailing side and very black (i.e. as dark as coal) on its leading side, Iapetus was discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1671. The moon is tidally locked. Its two-tone nature was a mystery until 2009, when the Spitzer Space Telescope discovered a very dim ring of dust generated by the outer moon Phoebe. Since Phoebe orbits {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}} in the opposite direction, as the "Phoebe ring" spreads out it smacks into Iapetus head-on and darkens that side. Cassini also discovered a gigantic equatorial ridge that some people have compared to plastic sprue or the surface of a walnut. Also, because it orbit at an incline relative to the plane of the rings (unlike all the other major moons), Iapetus is the only major moon of Saturn with a full view of the spectacular ring system. On the other moons, the rings appear at best as a thin line in the sky (at worst, you're on Titan and while you have some marvelous mountains and methane seas to look at, the sky is just a red-orange haze). But on Iapetus, the sky looks like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn_from_Iapetus.jpg this]]. One imagines that if interplanetary space tourism ever becomes a thing, Iapetus, with its pretty mountains and view of Saturn, would become quite a popular destination.
211
212	Like Rhea it lacks an orbital resonance partner, but it's theorised that it once had one in Titan as it would explain booth their current orbital eccentricities. The cause of its huge inclination is also something of a mystery as its unlikely to have formed with it.
213
214	Its surface features are named after people and places from ''Literature/TheSongOfRoland'' (Roncevaux Terra, the crater Ganelon, Toledo and Tortelosa Montes, etc.)
215
216	The setting of the book ''[[Literature/TheSpaceOdysseySeries 2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.
217
218	In the ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'' series, the Achuultani attempt to hurl Iapetus at Earth as a weapon.
219
220	!!Retro Girl Phoebe
221	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Phoebe_cassini_1872.jpg]]
222	[floatboxright:
223	'''Profile'''
224	* Diameter: 213 km
225	* Mass: 8.292×10^18 kg
226	* Density: 1.638 g/cm3
227	* Surface Gravity: 0.038 g
228	* Semi-major Axis: 12,960,000 km from Saturn
229	* Orbital Period: 550 Days
230	* Rotational Period: 9 h and 16 min
231	* Axial Tilt: 152.14° (to orbit)
232	* Average Surface Temperature: ~--200° C
233	* Notable Features: Leto Regio, Retrograde orbit, Phoebe Ring
234	* Discovered: 1899 by W.H. Pickering
235	]
236
237	Phoebe was the first moon to be discovered photographically (in 1898) and was the outermost of {{UsefulNotes/Saturn}}'s known moons until more were discovered in the 2000s (it's now considered a member of the "Norse group" of irregular satellites and by far their largest member. The rest having a diameter smaller than 10km). Its main claim to fame is its retrograde orbit[[note]]this isn't a problem for it though unlike [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfNeptune Triton]]. As it's to small and far away for any significant deacceleration to take place[[/note]] and very low albedo, and it was long thought to be a captured asteroid. Recent evidence points to it being a captured "centaur" (a Kuiper belt object pulled in from its normal stomping grounds out by Pluto by the permutations of the gas giants). Its also the progenitor of Saturns largest and outermost ring (the so called Phoebe ring). Consisting of material expulsed from the moon by countless meteorites.
238
239	Its surface features are named after people and places from the Myth/{{Classical myth\|ology}} of Jason and the Argonauts (e.g. the crater Hylas).
240
241	Home of the protomolecule in ''Literature/TheExpanse'' and [[Series/TheExpanse its TV adaptation]].
242

Context UsefulNotes / TheMoonsOfSaturn