Related papers: Theoretical and computational models for Saturn's …
Popular science article associated with the work `On the co-orbital motion in the three-body problem: existence of quasi-periodic horseshoe-shaped orbits" (arXiv:1806.07262) from the same authors. Janus and Epimetheus are two moons of…
The Saturnian coorbital satellites Janus and Epimetheus present a unique dynamical configuration in the Solar System, because of high-amplitude horseshoe orbits, due to a mass ratio of order unity. As a consequence, they swap their orbits…
Janus and Epimetheus are famously known for their distinctive horseshoe-shaped orbits resulting from a 1:1 orbital resonance. Every four years these two satellites swap their orbits by a few tens of kilometers as a result of their close…
Janus and Epimetheus are two moons of Saturn with very peculiar motions. As they orbit around Saturn on quasi-coplanar and quasi-circular trajectories whose radii are only 50 km apart (less than their respective diameters), every four…
The co-orbital satellites of Saturn, Janus and Epimetheus, swap radial positions every 4.0 years. Since \textit{Cassini} has been in orbit about Saturn, this has occurred on 21 January in 2006, 2010, and 2014. We describe the effects of…
Epimetheus, a small moon of Saturn, has a rotational libration (an oscillation about synchronous rotation) of 5.9 +- 1.2 degrees, placing Epimetheus in the company of Earth's Moon and Mars' Phobos as the only natural satellites for which…
We analyze the orbital motion of two natural satellites initially in co-orbital configuration with a third (guiding) satellite embedded into a circumplanetary gas disc and undergoing tidal interactions with the central planet. By solving…
During the thirteen years in orbit around Saturn before its final plunge, the Cassini spacecraft provided more than ten thousand astrometric measurements. Such large amounts of accurate data enable the search for extremely faint signals in…
Saturn has a dynamically rich satellite system, which includes at least three orbital resonances between three pairs of moons: Mimas-Tethys 4:2, Enceladus-Dione 2:1, and Titan-Hyperion 4:3 mean-motion resonances. Studies of the orbital…
Context: Co-orbital systems are bodies that share the same mean orbit. They can be divided into different families according to the relative mass of the co-orbital partners and the particularities of their movement. Janus and Epimetheus are…
The Cassini spacecraft collects high resolution images of the saturnian satellites and reveals the surface of these new worlds. The shape and rotation of the satellites can be determined from the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem data,…
We present an analytical model to study the dynamics of the outer edge of Saturn's A ring. The latter is influenced by 7:6 mean motion resonances with Janus and Epimetheus. Because of the horseshoe motion of the two co-orbital moons, the…
The Cassini spacecraft revealed the spectacular, highly irregular shapes of the small inner moons of Saturn, ranging from the unique "ravioli-like" forms of Pan and Atlas to the highly elongated structure of Prometheus. Closest to Saturn,…
The Cassini spacecraft found a new and unique ring that shares the trajectory of Janus and Epimetheus, co-orbital satellites of Saturn. Performing image analysis, we found this to be a continuous ring. Its width is between 30% and 50%…
The stability of satellites in the solar system is affected by the so-called evection resonance. The moons of Saturn, in particular, exhibit a complex dynamical architecture in which co-orbital configurations occur, especially close to the…
We present numerically-derived orbits and mass estimates for the inner Saturnian satellites, Atlas, Prometheus, Pandora, Janus and Epimetheus from a fit to 2580 new Cassini ISS astrometric observations spanning February 2004 to August 2013.…
The interactions among objects in a mean motion resonance are important for the orbital evolution of satellites and rings, especially Saturn's ring arcs and associated moons. In this work, we examine interactions among massive bodies in the…
Anderson & Schubert (2007, Science,317,1384) proposed that Saturn's rotation period can be ascertained by minimizing the dynamic heights of the 100 mbar isosurface with respect to the geoid; they derived a rotation period of 10h 32m 35s. We…
Saturn's mid-sized moons (satellites) have a puzzling orbital configuration with trapping in mean-motion resonances with every other pairs (Mimas-Tethys 4:2 and Enceladus-Dione 2:1). To reproduce their current orbital configuration on the…
We present a study of the behavior of Saturn's A ring outer edge, using images and occultation data obtained by the Cassini spacecraft over a period of 8 years from 2006 to 2014. More than 5000 images and 170 occultations of the A ring…