Phoebe is an irregular moon of Saturn, taking over a year to complete one orbit. Phoebe probably was once an Asteroid, but it was captured by Saturn’s gravity. This story is also likely for the rest of Saturn’s irregular moons.
History[]
Early History[]
Phoebe was spherical and hot early in it’s history, but impacts from space debris knocked Phoebe out of it’s circular shape to make it more irregular and have an unclear interior. Phoebe is believed to have originated in the Kuiper Belt.
Discovery[]
Phoebe was discovered on 17 March, 1899 and 16 August 1898 by William Henry Pickering. He discovered Phoebe on 17 March 1899 while looking at picture plates taken on 16 August 1898 at the Boyden Observatory in Peru. It was the first Natural satellite to be discovered photographically.
Naming[]
Phoebe is named after Phoebe, a Titaness in Greek Mythology that was associated with the Moon.
Orbit[]
Phoebe‘s Orbit is irregular and elliptical. It is also retrograde, so it orbits the opposite way that Saturn rotates. This is normal for captured moons. Phoebe was once Saturn’s outermost known moon. This was for over 100 years. This lasted until smaller moons were discovered in 2000. Phoebe is much farther than the farthest major moon, Iapetus. Phoebe also does not orbit in the plane of Saturn’s equator.
Phoebe Ring[]
Main Article: Phoebe Ring
The Phoebe Ring is the outermost known ring of Saturn and possibly the Solar System. It is fed by dust from Phoebe, and is very wide.