Atlas

Also known as Saturn XV, S/1980 S 28

moon of Saturn

AI overview

Atlas is a small moon of Saturn, one of many natural satellites orbiting the planet. While relatively obscure compared to Saturn's larger moons, it contributes to our understanding of the Saturnian system and the diverse bodies that populate our solar system.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Atlas is an inner satellite of Saturn which was discovered by Richard Terrile in 1980 from Voyager photos and was designated S/1980 S 28. In 1983, it was officially named after Atlas of Greek mythology, because it "holds the rings on its shoulders" like the Titan Atlas held the sky up above the Earth. It is also designated Saturn XV.

Atlas is the closest satellite to the sharp outer edge of the A ring, and was long thought to be a shepherd satellite for this ring (which was probably the reason for its name). However, now it is known that the outer edge of the ring is instead maintained by a 7:6 orbital resonance with the larger but more distant moons Janus and Epimetheus. In 2004 a faint, thin ring, temporarily designated R/2004 S 1, was discovered in the Atlantean orbit.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Atlas” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.