Bleriot (moonlet)
Moonlet in Saturn's outermost ring
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bleriot or Blériot (English: /ˈblɛrioʊ/ BLERR-ee-oh, French: [bleʁjo]) is the informal name for a propeller moonlet within Saturn's A Ring. It is about 860 metres (2,820 ft) across, making it the largest of these propeller moonlets. It has been tracked by the Cassini Imaging Team since 2005.[4]
Cassini image directed at Bleriot. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Cassini Imaging Team |
| Discovery date | 2005 |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| non-Keplerian motion[1] | |
| Eccentricity | ≈ 0.000 |
| ~3.7 years [2] | |
| Inclination | ≈ 0.0 |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 860±140 m[3] | |
| assumed synchronous | |
Bleriot has been subject to some scientific studies due to its large size and has helped scientists improve their understanding of the interactions between objects within Saturn's rings.[5][6] The orbit of Bleriot has some anomalies, such as it sometimes being much further behind or ahead than it is predicted to be.[5][7]
It is named after the French aviator Louis Blériot, who was the first person to fly across the English Channel.[4][5]
Due to its small size, Bleriot cannot be directly imaged, it can only be noticed by the "propeller-shaped" disturbances it creates around it.[3] It is also responsible for a 40-kilometre gap in the A-ring.
