Pan

Also known as Saturn XVIII, S/1981 S 13

moon of Saturn

AI overview

Pan is a small moon of Saturn that orbits within the planet's ring system. It is notable for its unusual shape and its role in sculpting Saturn's rings through its gravitational influence.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Mass: 5
Orbital period: 0.575050718
Image: PIA21436.jpg

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semi-major axis of an orbit: 133584
Commons category: Pan (moon)
time of discovery or invention: 1981-08-22
provisional designation: S/1981 S 13
albedo: 0.5
apparent magnitude: 19.4
orbital eccentricity: 0.0000144
orbital inclination: 0.0001

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Article

Pan is the innermost named moon of Saturn. It is approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) across and 23 km (14 mi) wide and orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn's A Ring. Pan is a ring shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap free of ring particles. It is sometimes described as having the appearance of a walnut, or ravioli.

Pan was discovered by Mark R. Showalter in 1990 from analysis of old Voyager 2 probe photos and received the provisional designation S/1981 S 13 because the discovery images dated back to 1981.