MadSci Network: Astronomy |
I read that Janus and Epimethius are in nearly identical orbits but the one that is 50 km closer to Saturn catches up to and changes places with the one that is 50 km farther from Saturn. Although the diameters of the moons indicate that a collision should take place, they get past each other and have not yet hit each other. Such a collision would obviously destroy both of them. This change takes place about every 4 Earth years. Do you know how the orbits change? Just how does the outer moon become the inner one and the inner one become the outer? There were no details on the web. Thanks.
Re: How do Saturn's moons Janus and Epimethius change places?
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Astronomy.