Astronomy: General

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. A Dictionary of Astronomy Further reading

Pan

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Pan in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn . Also known as Saturn XVIII (or S18), Pan is 12.5 mi (20 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 83,000 mi (133,583 km), and has an orbital period of 0.575 earth days. The rotational period is unknown but is assumed to be the same as the orbital period. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter at the Ames Research Center in California in 1990 while reviewing photographs taken by Voyager 1 during its flyby of Saturn in 1980. The innermost of Saturn's confirmed moons, Pan's orbit is within the Encke Division, or Encke Gap, of Saturn's A ring, where it functions as a shepherd satellite (a moon that limits the extent of a planetary ring through gravitational forces), keeping the gap open.

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Pan

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

Pan The innermost known satellite of Saturn, orbiting within the Encke Division in the A Ring at a distance of 133 600 km; also known as Saturn XVIII. Its orbital period is 0.575 days and its diameter about 20 km. Pan was discovered in 1990 on photographs taken nine years earlier by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

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"Pan." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Pan." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-Pan.html

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