S / 2004 S 3 - Saturn's likely natural satellite.
| S / 2004 S 3 | |
|---|---|
| Saturn's satellite | |
 | |
| Discovery story | |
| Discoverer | Cassini |
| opening date | July 21, 2009 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| physical characteristics | |
| Diameter | 4,500 m |
| Atmosphere | missing |
Discovery History
The S / 2004 S 3 satellite was discovered from photographs of the Cassini spacecraft on June 21, 2004 by a group of American astronomers led by Carolina Porco. The existence of this satellite has not yet been officially confirmed, so it does not have an official name.
Orbit
S / 2004 S 3 is located at the outer edge of the ring F. Its orbit lies inside the orbit of Pandora .
Physical Characteristics
The satellite has a diameter of about 4.5 kilometers and rotates at a distance of 140 580 kilometers from Saturn. It has a revolution period of 0.62095 days, an orbit inclination of 0.05 Β° to the equator of Saturn, an eccentricity of the orbit of 0.004.
S / 2004 S 3 was visible in the 118-day interval, but not one of the objects S / 2004 S 3, S / 2004 S 4, S / 2004 S 6 was detected on November 15, 2004 - 29 days after the last observations of S / 2004 S 3 on images with a resolution of 4 m / p at which these objects were detected. Thus, it is possible that S / 2004 S 3, S / 2004 S 4 and S / 2004 S 6 could be temporary thickenings.