Pan

Saturn XVIII - 1990S18, 1981S13

Pan, the innermost known satellite, was found from photographs taken by Voyager during its encounter with Saturn. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter in 1990, 9 years after the Voyager encounter. Pan is located 133,583 kilometers from the center of Saturn and is within the Encke Gap of Saturn's A-ring. It acts as a shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke gap open. It has a diameter of 20 kilometers.

Pan Statistics

Discovered by ............................. Mark R. Showalter
Date of discovery ...................................... 1990

Mass (kg) ................................................. ?
Equatorial radius (km) ................................ 9.655
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) .................... 1.5138e-03
Mean density (gm/cm^3) .................................... ?

Mean distance from Saturn (km) ...................... 133,583
Rotational period (days) .................................. ?
Orbital period (days) ................................ 0.5750
Mean orbital velocity (km/sec) ........................ 16.90

Orbital eccentricity ................................... 0.00
Orbital inclination ..................................... 0.0°

Visual geometric albedo ................................. 0.5
Magnitude (Vo) ............................................ ?

Views of Pan

Pan (GIF)
This image shows the small moolet Pan located within the Saturn's Encke gap. The contrast has been enhanced and the image has been sharpened. (Credit: Calvin J. Hamilton)

Pan Within Encke Gap (GIF)
This is the highest resolution image of Pan from the Voyager data. This image shows the A ring entering Saturn's shadow. Pan is located in the center of the small box within the Encke gap. Pan is shown enlarged and enhanced in the inset box. (Credit: Calvin J. Hamilton)

References

Saturn Atlas

Author: Calvin J. Hamilton.