Saturn has over 60 moons that vary greatly in size, composition, and orbital periods. Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the only one with a significant atmosphere. Other notable moons include Enceladus, which has geysers at its south pole, and Mimas, which resembles the Death Star due to a large impact crater. The moons formed early in the solar system's history and theories suggest they may have originated from larger moons that broke apart.

1. SATURN’S MOONSMA. HAZEL L. LLORANDO
BSED 2 - R

2. THE RINGED PLANET’S
SATELLITESSixty-two moons travel around Saturn. They come in a
variety of sizes and compositions, from almost pure ice to
rocky material, as well as a combination of both. Their
journeys around the ringed planet average from half an
Earth day to just over four Earth years.
Saturn's moons formed early in the history of the solar
system. One of the moons, Titan, makes up 96 percent of
the mass orbiting the planet.

4. THEORIES OF THESE
MOONS Scientists think that the system may have originally
housed two such moons, but the second broke up,
creating the debris that formed the rings and smaller,
inner moons.
 Another theory suggests that the system originally
housed several large moons, similar to Jupiter's Galilean
moons, but two fused into Titan. The violent collision
could have scattered the debris that would have later
drawn together into the smaller moons.

5. DISCOVERY OF
THESE MOONS
 The first moon was discovered in 1655.
 Over the next 200 years, the other seven major satellites
were spotted.
 By 1997, astronomers on Earth had found 18 moons in
orbit around the planet.
 The close orbit of NASA's Cassini mission, along with
advances in technology for Earth-based telescopes,
enabled the discovery of the rest.

6.  In 1847, British astronomer Sir John Herschel suggested
that the moons of Saturn take their names from the
Titans. The mythical siblings of the Greek god Cronus —
Saturn to the Romans — the Titans battled the Olympian
gods and lost. Once the names of the Titans were used,
the moons began to be called after other characters
from Roman and Greek mythology. Only 53 of
Saturn's moons have names; the rest are identified by a
numerical designation relating to their year of discovery.

9. TITAN
 Titan is the largest of Saturn's moons and the first
to be discovered.
 Titan is the only moon in the solar system known
to have a significant atmosphere.
 Nitrogen and methane extend around the moon
10 times as far into space as Earth's atmosphere,
sometimes falling to the surface in the form of
methane rain.
 This atmosphere makes it one of the best
potential candidates for hosting life.
 Titan is larger than the planet Mercury, though
not nearly as massive.

10. DIONE
 Dione is thought to be a dense rocky core
surrounded by water-ice.
 The tidally locked moon is heavily cratered
not on its leading side but on its back side.
 Astronomers think a collision could have spun
the moon on its axis.
 The third-densest of Saturn's 62 moons, Dione
is composed primarily of water ice; scientists
have seen hints of "active geologic
processes" on the moon including a transient
atmosphere and evidence of ice volcanoes.

11. ENCELADUS
 Contains more than 70 geysers at its south pole.
 Tidal heating causes portions of the icy planet to
melt, spewing icy material into space from its
"tiger stripes." The tiny bits of ice travel together
to create Saturn's E ring.
 The satellite's icy surface makes it one of the
brightest objects in the solar system.
 Enceladus has geologic activity, simple organic
compounds and possibly liquid water beneath its
frozen surface, making it incredibly important to
the study of potentially habitable environments
for life.

12. HYPERION
 Hyperion was the last of the major satellites
to be discovered. It is a small moon with an
irregular appearance.
 The flattened object resembles an elongated
potato rather than a sphere, a form that may
have been created when an impact
demolished a larger moon long ago.
 Hyperion has a spongy shape, possibly due
to its low density and porous surface. Impacts
seem to be absorbed by the moon, and
most of the ejecta is thrown into space

13. IAPETUS  Iapetus features light and dark
contrasts on its surface, giving the
moon a yin-yang shape.
 Iapetus has a walnut-like shape, with
its center bulging outward, and a
ridge running around its equator.
 The moon also contains some of the
highest mountains in the solar system.

14. MIMAS
 Mimas has a gaping crater that gives the rocky moon a
strong resemblance to fictional Death Star in the "Star
Wars" movies.
 The impact stands out despite the fact that Mimas is one
of the most heavily cratered bodies in the solar system,
with overlapping impacts covering the surface.
 The smallest and closest orbiting of Saturn's major moons
 Mimas is made up primarily of water-ice, but despite its
proximity to the planet and resulting tidal heating, the
surface of the moon remains unchanged; none of the
ice seems to be melting, though such melting occurs on
other, more distant moons.

15. RHEA
 Rhea is a heavily cratered moon and lacks a
core at its center. Instead, the entire body is
composed of ice, with traces of rock mixed in,
causing it to resemble a dirty snowball.
 Rhea is still rather small, about half the size of
Earth's moon.
 The satellite contains a faint oxygen
atmosphere, about 5 trillion times less dense
than the one found on Earth, but the only
known oxygen atmosphere in the solar system.

16. TETHYS
 Tethys travels close to Saturn and feels
the gravitational pull of the planet.
 The heat from Saturn may allow the
moon's icy surface to melt slightly, filling
in craters and other signs of impact.
 Made up almost entirely of water ice,
the surface is highly reflective. A large
crater on the other side of the moon
covers nearly two-fifth of the moon's
diameter and is nearly the size of
Mimas.

17. THE MINOR MOONS
9. Erriapus
10. Phoebe
11. Janus
12. Epimetheus
13. Helene
14. Telesto
15. Calypso
16. Kiviuq
17. Atlas
18. Prometheus
19. Pandora
20. Pan
21. Ymir
22. Paaliaq
23. Tarvos
24. Ijiraq
25. Suttungr
26. Mundilfari
27. Albiorix
28. Skathi
29. Siarnaq
30. Thrymr
31. Narvi
32. Methone
33. Pallene
34. Polydeuces
35. Daphnis
36. Aegir
37. Bebhionn
38. Bergelmir
39. Bestla
40. Farbauti
41. Fenrir
42. Fornjot
43. Hati
44. Hyrrokkin
45. Kari
46. Loge
47. Skoll
48. Surtur
49. Greip
50. Jarnsaxa
51. Tarqeq
52. Anthe
53. Aegaeon
THE SMALLER NAMED MOONS OF
SATURN ARE AS FOLLOWS:

18. THE UNNAMED MOONS, IDENTIFIED
BY YEAR OF DISCOVERY, ARE:
1. S/2004 S7
2. S/2004 S12
3. S/2004 S13
4. S/2004 S17
5. S/2006 S1
6. S/2006 S3
7. S/2007 S2
8. S/2007 S3
9. S/2009 S1

20. WHAT WOULD
IT BE LIKE IF
WE LIVE IN
ONE OF THESE