0-Saturn and Friends.jpgSaturn and His Moons201 visiteThe dozens of moons orbiting Saturn vary drastically in shape, size, age and origin. Some of these moons have rocky surfaces, while others are porous, icy bodies. Many have craters, ridges and valleys and some show evidence of tectonic activity. Some appear to have formed billions of years ago, while others appear to be pieces of a bigger, fragmented body. The most interesting one is Titan, the biggest of them all. Larger than Earth's Moon, Titan even has its own thick atmosphere - the only natural satellite in the Solar System with such a luxury. During its 4-year mission in this immense region, the Cassini spacecraft will extensively photograph many of these moons and collect data that will increase our understanding of their composition.
To date, 34 moons have been officially named. In alphabetic order, they are: Albiorix, Atlas, Calypso, Dione , Enceladus, Epimetheus, Erriapo, Helene, Hyperion, Iapetus, Ijiraq, Janus, Kiviuq, Methone, Mimas, Mundilfari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pallene, Pan, Pandora, Phoebe, Polydeuces, Prometheus, Rhea, Siarnaq, Skadi, Suttung, Tarvos, Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Titan and Ymir.
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ZYZ-Pluto_s System.2jpg.jpgThe "colors" and a Schematic of Pluto's System71 visiteThe new HST/ACS observations made on March 2nd reveal that all three of Pluto's satellites are neutrally colored, unlike reddish Pluto itself. Pluto's reddish color is believed to be due to reddening agents created by the effects of sunlight acting on its Nitrogen and Methane surface ices. Charon's surface is known to consist primarily of water ice; the similar color of P1 and P2 may indicate they too have water ice surfaces.
The color similarity of Pluto's two small satellites to one another and to Charon is consistent with their all having been born as a result of a single giant impact, as previously indicated by their orbits and Charon's large mass.
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