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Space Topics: Saturn

Daphnis (S/2005 S1)

The Keeler Gap Moon

Daphnis, the
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Daphnis, the "Wavemaker Moon"
Among the moons discovered by Cassini is Daphnis. Daphnis orbits within the narrow Keeler gap at the outer edge of Saturn's A ring, exciting waves in the edge of the gap. This image was taken on August 1, 2005, from a distance of 853,000 kilometers. Source Credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute

Size: Roughly 7 kilometers
Orbital radius: 136,500 kilometers - 2.26 Saturn radii - within the Keeler gap in the A ring
Orbital period: 0.594 days - about 1/27 of Titan’s
Discovery: 2005 by C. Porco et al.

Like Pan, Daphnis was discovered on the basis of the wavy features it excites in the edges of a gap within Saturn's A ring.  Daphnis orbits within the very thin Keeler gap.