Ymir, Suttung, Thrym, Mundilfari, Narvi, Tarvos, Siarnaq, Erriapo, Albiorix, Skadi, Paaliaq, Ijiraq, Kiviuq, and 12 more unnamed…

In the outer reaches of the Saturnian system lie at least 26 tiny moons. 25 of these remain faint lights in the sky, 12 of which were announced in May 2005. When Cassini-Huygens entered the Saturnian system in June 2004, it passed by and photographed the other outer moon, Phoebe…

A world previously seen only as a blurry blob taken by the distant Voyager 2 in 1981 resolved in the span of just a few days into a fantastic cratered object with towering cliffs of water ice mostly covered by very dark material. Phoebe became the first object Cassini-Huygens would flyby as it entered the Saturnian system in June 2004.

Did Phoebe form with the inner moons of Saturn during the formation of the system? Probably not. Scientists now believe that Phoebe was somehow captured during an ill-fated incursion from the outer solar system’s Kuiper Belt into the Saturnian system.

More Information

• Cassini-Huygens Website
  • Saturn’s Moons section
  • Phoebe Information

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Pan
• Atlas
• Prometheus
• Pandora
• Janus
• Epimetheus
• Mimas
• Pallene and Methone
• Enceladus
• Telesto
• Tethys
• Calypso
• Helene
• Dione
• Polydeuces
• Rhea
• Titan
• Hyperion
• Iapetus
• Phoebe

NASA held a press conference today regarding the latest analysis of data received from the Cassini spacecraft flyby of Saturn’s moon Phoebe. The data suggests that Phoebe is a captured object that originated in the Kuiper Belt rather than the Asteroid Belt. It appears to be composed mostly of water ice and rock, with some surface organic materials, carbon dioxide, and possibly hydrocarbons. Scientist hope further review of the data can help them confirm or deny their theories regarding the origination and formation of the solar system.

CICLOPS (the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations) released new images on Sunday from Cassini’s flyby of Phoebe including close-ups of craters and global images. Scientists now believe that the moon is an icy body covered by dark material. The Cassini-Huygens probe is now a little over 16 days away from entering orbit around Saturn.

Cassini began sending back data from its flyby of Phoebe early Saturday morning and the first images have been released. These images show a heavily cratered moon that may be, according to scientists, a remnant of the creation of the solar system. The surface is of an unknown dark material. Scientists will pour over the data from 11 different instruments to reach conclusions about Phoebe.

Go back a few days and compare the first fuzzy image of the tiny moon to the latest image. The unknown suddenly has a face thanks to the power of human ingenuity and science

The best pictures ever taken of Saturn’s moon Phoebe are streaming back to Earth as Cassini rapidly approaches. Just before 2:00 pm Pacific Time today, Cassini will pass over Phoebe. The two images in the composite above were taken about 13 hours apart and show two different hemispheres of the moon. The moon appears to be heavily cratered. The latest images can be seen at the Cassini-Huygens website, which will likely be updated rather frequently today.

Cassini is rapidly approaching Phoebe, the outermost known moon of Saturn. The first images are already twice as good as the best image of Phoebe taken by Voyager 2 in 1981, and will only get better over the next few hours. Cassini will pass only 2000 kilometers over the surface of the tiny moon around 2:00 pm Pacific Time this Friday. Late on June 30 into July 1, 2004, the spacecraft will intersect the rings of Saturn and allow Saturn to take it into orbit to begin its planned four-year study of the planetary system.