Bleriot (or Blériot), is the informal name for a propeller moonlet within Saturn's A Ring. It is about 860 metres (2,820 ft) across, making it the largest of these propeller moonlets. It has been tracked by the Cassini Imaging Team for the past decade.[2]
 Cassini image directed at Bleriot. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Cassini Imaging Team |
| Discovery date | 2005 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Eccentricity | ≈ 0.000 |
| Inclination | ≈ 0.0 |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Group | A ring moonlet |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 860±140 m[1] | |
| assumed synchronous | |
Bleriot has been subject to some scientific studies due to its large size and has helped scientists improve their understanding the interactions between objects within Saturn's rings.[3][4] The orbit of Bleriot has some anomalies such as that it sometimes is much further behind or ahead than is predicted to be.[3][5]
The name comes from French aviator Louis Blériot, who was the first person to fly across the English Channel.[2][3]
Due to its small size, Bleriot cannot be directly imaged, it can only be noticed by the "propeller-shaped" disturbances it creates around it.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Seiß, Martin; Albers, Nicole; Sremčević, Miodrag; Schmidt, Jürgen; Salo, Heikki; Seiler, Michael; Hoffmann, Holger; Spahn, Frank (2018-12-12). "Hydrodynamic Simulations of Moonlet-induced Propellers in Saturn's Rings: Application to Blériot". The Astronomical Journal. 157 (1): 6. arXiv:1701.04641. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aaed44. ISSN 1538-3881.
- ^ a b "Catalog Page for PIA21447". photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ a b c "NASA Cassini Images: Tiny Moons In Saturn's Rings". International Business Times. 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ "Catalog Page for PIA12792". photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ Beatty, J. Keally (2010-07-16). "Strange Twists in Saturn's Rings". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
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