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hor_green_bar1.jpg Phoebe hor_green_bar1.jpg


Phoebe - courtesy NASAPhoebe is one of the last satellites of Saturn and was discovered by William Henry Pickering in 1898. It orbits opposite direction of most other satellites and has a low albedo. It has a rapid rotation: one Phoebe day is only 9 Earth hours long. The satellite is thought to be captured by Saturn's gravitational field. The material of Phoebe is very primitive, thought to be as old as the material that first formed the solar system. However the origin of Phoebe is probably on the outskirts of the solar system that found ts way into the orbit of Saturn. Phoebe also could play a role in supplying Iapetus the dark, wispy material found on its surface.



PHYSICAL DATA FOR PHOEBE
 Mass (kg) 4.0e + 18
 Mass (Earth = 1) 6.6934e - 07
 Radius (km) 110
 Radius (Earth = 1) 1.7247e - 02
 Mean Density (g/cm3) 0.7
 Mean Distance from Saturn (km) 12,952,000
 Magnitude (V0) 16.45



ORBITAL DATA FOR PHOEBE
 Rotational period (days) 0.4
 Orbital period (days) -550.48
 Mean orbital velocity (km/s) -1.71
 Orbital eccentricity 0.1633
 Orbital inclination (degrees) 175.3
 Escape (km/s) 0.0697
 Albedo 0.06



Physical Data Key
Mass Mass
Mass Mass compared to that of Earth.
Radius Radius
Radius Radius compared to that of Earth.
Mean Density Average Density.
Distance Distance to the planet's center.
Magnitude The brightness of a star or object.
Orbital Data Key
Rotational Period Number of days to make one complete rotation.
Orbital Period Number of days to obital the planet.
Mean Orbital Velocity Average obital speed.
Orbital Eccentricity Eccentricity.
Orbital Inclination The tilt of the moon or planet.
Escape Escape Velocity.
Albedo Visual geometric albedo.




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