Epimetheus (moon)
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Epimetheus is an inner satellite of Saturn. It is named after the titan Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus and son of Iapetus.
South pole of Epimetheus imaged by Cassini on 3 December 2007
Epimetheus
Epimetheus (lower left) and Janus (right) seen on 20 March 2006, two months after swapping orbits. The two moons appear close only because of foreshortening; in reality, Janus is about 40,000 km farther from Cassini than Epimetheus.
Epimetheus crossed by the shadow of the F Ring, as imaged by Voyager 1 (NASA)
Horseshoe orbit
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In celestial mechanics, a horseshoe orbit is a type of co-orbital motion of a small orbiting body relative to a larger orbiting body. The osculating orbital period of the smaller body remains very nea
Epimetheus (moon)
…every four years; the last close approaches occurred in January 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. This type of orbit is sometimes referred to as a horseshoe orbit, due to the shape of each moon's orbit, as seen from the perspective of the other moon. The two librate about their mutual L4 and L5 Lagrange points…
Figure 1. Plan showing possible orbits along gravitational contours. In this image, the Earth (and the whole image with it) is rotating counterclockwise around the Sun.
Figure 2. Thin horseshoe orbit