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Pandora (moon)

Pandora
Pandora, as imaged by Voyager 2 (NASA)
Discovery
Discovered by Voyager 1
Discovered in 1980
Orbital characteristics
Semimajor axis 141,700 km
Eccentricity 0.0042
Revolution period 15h 5m
Inclination
Is a satellite of Saturn
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter 83 km
Mass 1.94×1017 kg
Mean density 0.6 g/cm3
Surface gravity 0.008 m/s2
Rotation period unknown
Axial tilt
Albedo 0.6
Atmosphere none

Pandora (pan-dor'-a, Greek Πανδώρα) is a moon of Saturn. It was discovered in 1980 from Voyager photos, and was designated 1980 S 26. In 1985 it was officially named after Pandora from Greek mythology. It is also designated as Saturn XVII.

Pandora is the outer shepherd satellite of the F Ring. It is more heavily cratered than nearby Prometheus, and has at least two large craters 30 km in diameter but shows no linear ridges or valleys.

From its very low density and relatively high albedo, it seems likely that Pandora is a very porous icy body. There is a lot of uncertainty in these values, however, so this remains to be confirmed.

There is also an asteroid called 55 Pandora.

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... | S/2004 S 3 | Pandora | Janus, Epimetheus | ...

01-04-2007 01:18:14
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