Helene (moon)

Helene is a moon of Saturn. It was discovered by Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux in 1980 from ground-based observations at Pic du Midi Observatory, and was designated S/1980 S 6. In 1988 it was officially named after Helen of Troy, who was the granddaughter of Cronus (Saturn) in Greek mythology. Helene is also designated Saturn XII (12), which it was given in 1982, and Dione B, because it is co-orbital with Dione and located in its leading Lagrangian point (L4). It is one of four known trojan moons.
== Exploration ==
Helene was initially observed from Earth in 1980, and Voyager flybys of Saturn in the early 1980s allowed much closer views. The Cassini–Huygens mission, which went into orbit around Saturn in 2004, provided still better views, and allowed more in-depth analysis of Helene, including views of the surface under different lighting conditions. Some of the closest images of Helene to date are from the Cassini spacecraft's 1800 km flyby on March 3, 2010, and another very successful imaging sequence occurred in June 2011. There have been many other approaches over the course of the Cassini mission.
== Selected Observations ==
Mostly raw greyscale images with near infrared or ultraviolet channels.
Leading hemisphere of Helene - 20110618.jpg|High-resolution view of leading hemisphere, showing gullies and apparent dust (regolith) flows (Cassini, June 2011)
PIA12758 Helene crop.jpg|Flow-like features on Helene's leading hemisphere (Cassini, January 2011)
800px-N00152209 Helene.jpg|Helene's Saturn-facing side, lit by saturnshine (Cassini, March 2010)
N00152248 Helene.jpg|Close-up of Helene with Saturn in the background (Cassini, March 2010)
Helene rev 127 raw 1.jpg|Cassini image from March 3, 2010
PIA 10544 Helene.jpg|Cassini orbiter image from November 2008
Cassini Helene N00086698 CL.jpg|Cassini image taken July 2007
Helene - Voyager 2.jpg|Voyager 2 image (August 1981)
== In the Timeline ==
=== Space Travel (1969) ===
In Space Travel a ship is tested by travelling to and landing on various planets and moons within the Solar System. Saturn was one such planet that was used in the testing process so it is probable that some of its moons were used as well.
== Notes ==
* This page was originally taken from Wikipedia. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_(moon)