How Many Moons Does Saturn Have?

The sixth planet from the sun and the second-largest planet in the solar system is the Saturn. Saturn is one of the "Jovian" planets of the solar system. The surface of Saturn consists of rock and ice. A thick layer of metallic hydrogen surrounds it and winds blow at 1,800 km/hr. One of the prominent features of Saturn is the rings, which consists of ice particles and rocky debris. Here we look at the moons of Saturn.

How many Moons does Saturn have?

The largest moon of Saturn is the Titan and it is the second-largest moon in the solar system. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury. It was only in recent years it was known, Saturn has 60 moons but only 52 of them have been named officially.

Many of the moons of Saturn are small and made of icy bodies. The moons of Saturn have been named after characters of Greek mythology. If the moons were not orbiting around Saturn, they would have been classified as comets. The reason is they are very tiny and have the diameter of just 2 to 3 km. Here are a few moons of Saturn.

Titan - In 1655, Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer discovered the largest moon of Saturn and named it Titan. Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and measures around 5151 km across. Titan occupies the 20th position on the orbit of Saturn. The atmosphere of this moon consists of ice and rocky materials and is 800 km thick.

Rhea - In 1672, Giovanni Cassini discovered Rhea. This moon has no air and is known as the largest airless satellite of Saturn. The surface of Rhea is divided geological into different regions based on the density of the craters. A crater that is larger than 40 km in diameter falls under the first region and a crater, which is less than 40 km in diameter, come under region two. Rhea is the second-largest moon of Saturn.

Tethys - Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered this moon of Saturn in the year 1684. The surface of Tethys is cracked due to the faults in the ice and is heavily cratered. It is also covered with water-ice particles. One of the trenches of Tethys is around 65 kilometers wide and a few kilometers deep. This trench is called Ithaca Chasma.

Mimas - Mimas is seventh satellite of Saturn. Herschel discovered it in 1789. One of the craters on the surface of Mimas is called Herschel and has the diameter of 130 km. The surface of Mimas is scattered with craters.

Enceladus - This moon was discovered by Herschel in 1789 and is one of the innermost moons of Saturn. The size of Enceladus is similar to that of Mimas. However, it has a brighter and a smoother surface than Mimas and reflects nearly all the sunlight it receives. The craters of this moon of Saturn are no larger than 35 km in diameter.

The other popular moons of Saturn include Dione, Lapteus, Calypso and so on. Giovanni Cassini discovered Dione and Lapteus. The moons of Saturn are named after the Titans of Greek mythology.