Bleriot | |
Discoverer: | Cassini Imaging Team |
Discovered: | 2005 |
Eccentricity: | ≈ 0.000 |
Inclination: | ≈ 0.0 |
Satellite Of: | Saturn |
Group: | A ring moonlet |
Rotation: | assumed synchronous |
Bleriot (or Blériot), is the informal name for a propeller moonlet within Saturn's A Ring. It is about 860m (2,820feet) across, making it the largest of these propeller moonlets. It has been tracked by the Cassini Imaging Team for the past decade.[1]
Bleriot has been subject to some scientific studies due to its large size and has helped scientists improve their understanding the interactions between objects within Saturn's rings.[2] [3] The orbit of Bleriot has some anomalies such as that it sometimes is much further behind or ahead than is predicted to be.[4]
The name comes from French aviator Louis Blériot, who was the first person to fly across the English Channel.
Due to its small size, Bleriot cannot be directly imaged, it can only be noticed by the "propeller-shaped" disturbances it creates around it.[5]