Pan is a moon of Saturn, named after the god Pan. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter[?] in 1990 from analysis of old Voyager probe photos. Pan is within the Encke Division in Saturn's A ring; it acts as a shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke gap open.
Its gravity produces wave patterns in the rings that indicated Pan's presence and led to the reexamination of Voyager photographs of its predicted location. Other undiscovered moons may exist within Saturn's rings.
Discovery
Discovered by Mark R. Showalter[?]
Discovered in 1990
Orbital characteristics
Semimajor axis 133,583 km
Eccentricity 0
Orbital period 13h 48m
Inclination 0°
Is a satellite of Saturn
Physical characteristics
Mean radius 10 km
Mass 2.7×1015 kg
Mean density 0.6 g/cm3
Surface gravity 0.002m/s2
>Rotation period unknown
Axial tilt 0°
Albedo 0.5
Atmosphere none