Epimetheus

Moon· orbits Saturn

Epimetheus — moon of Saturn.

Open in 3D viewSee Epimetheus in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Mass

5.26 × 10¹⁷ kg

0.00000717 Moon masses

Radius

58.2 km

3% of our Moon's radius

Surface gravity

0.0104 m/s²

0% of Earth's

Orbit around Saturn

16.8 hours

0.70 Earth days

Science

Physical

Mass: 5.26 × 10¹⁷ kg · 0.00000717 Moon masses
Radius: 58.2 km · 3% of our Moon's radius
Density: 638 kg/m³ · 0.64× water
Surface gravity: 0.0104 m/s² · 0% of Earth's
Escape velocity: 34.7 m/s · 0% of Earth's

Orbit around Saturn

Distance from Saturn: 4,422,162 km
Orbital period: 16.80 hours
Eccentricity: 0.01348
Inclination: 6.28 °

Radiation & temperature

Insolation: 0.0112 S⊕ · 1% of the sunlight Earth receives

Discovery & history

By: J. Fountain, S. Larson (1977), D. Cruikshank (1980)

Epimetheus was discovered in 1977, 1980 by J. Fountain and colleagues. Saturn's moons are named after giants and deities of world mythology — its distant irregular moons after Norse, Inuit and Gallic figures. Beyond its discovery and naming, little more about it has been individually recorded.

Images

Epimetheus, co-orbital with Janus, imaged by Cassini — NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute (public domain) · Wikimedia Commons

Epimetheus Before Janus — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Quartet and Crescent — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Flying by Epimetheus — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Co-orbital Shadow — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Somewhat Flattened South — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Trio of Small Moons — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Shadow on Bright B Ring — NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute · NASA Image Library

Images from open archives · credit shown per image