Methone

Methone is a small, egg-shaped moon of the Alkyonides group, a group of three small Saturnian
moons that orbits out past Saturn's ring system, between the orbits of Mimas and Enceladus. It was discovered in 2004, though it wasn't until 2012 that it was imaged in detail by the Cassini spacecraft.
== Discovery ==
Methone was first discovered by the Cassini Imaging Team and given the temporary designation S/2004 S 1. Methone is also named Saturn XXXII (32). The Cassini spacecraft made two visits to Methone, and its closest approach was made on May 20, 2012 with a minimum distance of 1,900 km (1,181 mi) from it.
== Orbit ==
Methone's orbit is perturbed by a 14:15 mean-motion resonance with the much larger Mimas. This causes its osculating orbital elements to vary with an amplitude of about 20 km (12 mi) in semi-major axis, and 5° in longitude of its periapsis on a timescale of about 450 days. Its eccentricity also varies, albeit on different timescales, between 0.0011 and 0.0037, and its inclination between about 0.003° and 0.020°.
== Physical Characteristics ==
When Cassini first took its close-up images of Methone, they revealed a remarkably smoother surface. The other Alkyonides (Pallene and Anthe) are thought to have very similar surfaces to Methone. Due to its smoothness the possibility of Methone being in hydrostatic equilibrium has been brought up.
== Methone Ring Arc ==
Material blasted off Methone by micrometeoroid impacts is believed to be the source of the Methone Ring Arc, a faint partial ring around Saturn co-orbital with Methone that was discovered in September 2006.
Category:Moons
Category:Saturnian Moons
Category:Alkyonides
Category:Inner Moon of Saturn
Category:Objects with No Atmosphere
Category:Objects In Hydrostatic Equilibrium
Category:Outer Solar System Object
Category:Prograde Satellite
Category:Named Objects
Category:Named Moons
Category:Numbered Objects
Category:Numbered Moons
Category:Objects Visited by Spacecraft