Explanation:
How many moons does Saturn have?
So far 62 have
been discovered, the smallest only a fraction
of a kilometer across.
Six of its largest satellites can be seen here, though, in a sharp
Saturnian family portrait
taken on March 9.
Larger than Earth's Moon and even slightly larger than Mercury,
Titan
has a diameter of 5,150 kilometers and starts the line-up
at the lower left.
Continuing to the right across the frame are
Mimas,
Tethys, [Saturn],
Enceladus,
Dione, and
Rhea at far right.
Saturn's first known natural satellite, Titan was
discovered in 1655 by
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, while most recently the
satellite provisionally designated
S/2009 S1 was found
by the Cassini Imaging Science Team in 2009.
Tonight,
Saturn reaches opposition
in planet Earth's sky, offering
the best telescopic views of the ringed planet and moons.
