Pan Facts for Kids

A Picture of Saturn's Moon Pan
  • Moon Name: Pan
  • Designation: Saturn XVIII
  • Date Discovered: July 16th, 1990
  • Discovered by: Mark R. Showalter (Voyager 2)
  • Average Orbit of Saturn: 83,002 miles
  • Total Mass: 5,451,597,244,923 tons
  • Surface Area: 964.60 square miles

14 Pan Facts for Kids

  1. Pan is one of Saturn’s 82 known moons (natural satellites).
  2. Pan is named after a Greek mythology god.
  3. Pan is also designated as Saturn XVIII.
  4. Pan was discovered on July 16th, 1990, by Mark R. Showalter using old photographs taken by Voyager 2.
  5. Mark R. Showalter discovered Pan using photographs from Voyager than were almost 20 years old.
  6. The average orbit distance for Pan is 83,002 mi.
  7. The diameter of the moon Pan is 17.523 mi.
  8. The surface area of the moon Pan is 964.60 mi2.
  9. It takes Pan less than 14 hours to complete an orbit around Saturn.
  10. Pan is the closest moon to Saturn that has been named.
  11. Pan is one of Saturn’s Shepperd moons and keeps the Encke Gap in A ring clear.
  12. The Encke Gap created by Pan in A ring is over 201 mi wide.
  13. Pan is known for its striking walnut like shape that resembles a ravioli.
  14. Pan has been photographed by the Voyager 2 and Cassini spacecrafts.

Additional Resources on Saturn’s Moon Pan

  • In Depth View of Pan – Discover Saturn’s moon Pan on the NASA Science Solar System Exploration website.
  • Pan Moon Data – Compare the moon Pan and our planet Earth on the NASA Science Solar System Exploration website.
  • Pan Moon Pictures – View photos of the moon Pan taken my NASA spacecrafts on the JPL Photojournal website.
  • Pan (Moon) – Wikipedia – Learn more about the Saturn’s moon Pan on the Wikipedia website.

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