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S/2004 S 46 is ∼3 kilometers in size and thus among the smallest known Irregular moons of Saturn. Its discovery has been announced in May 2023 joint with sixty-one other outer Saturnian moons. Its mean distance to Saturn is ∼20¼ million kilometers, with one revolution around the planet on a retrograde orbit requiring 2 years and 11 months. With an inclination of 176°, its orbit plane has almost no tilt against the ecliptic plane.
This object has not been named yet. We made no attempt to observe it with Cassini because it was unknown at the time Cassini was active. Note that the orbital elements in the MPEC announcement are current values, not mean elements (time-averaged over a few thousand years) as given for the pre-2023 announced objects.
Last update: 19 May 2023 — page content is best displayed on a screen at least 1024 pixels wide
© Tilmann Denk (2023)