|
Calypso, in astronomy, one of the 18 named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn XIV (or S14), Calypso is a small, irregularly shaped (nonspherical) body measuring about 21 mi (34 km) by 13.5 mi (22 km) by 13.5 mi (22 km); it orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 183,093 mi (294,660 km), and has an orbital period of 1.8878 earth days : the rotational period is unknown but is assumed to be the same as the orbital period. Calypso was discovered in 1980 by a group led by a team at the Univ. of Arizona led by Bradford A. Smith from ground-based photographs taken with prototype cameras designed for the Hubble Space Telescope. Calypso is co-orbital with two other moons, Telesto and Tethys; that is, they orbit Saturn at the same distance. Calypso and Telesto are two of the smallest moons in the solar system.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2009, Columbia
University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
|