Discovery of Atlas

Atlas is a small inner moon of Saturn, discovered in October 1980 in images taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft as it passed the planet. It orbits just outside the sharp outer edge of Saturn's main A ring and is thought to help maintain that edge by its gravity. Images from the Cassini spacecraft later showed that Atlas has a flattened, saucer-like shape with a pronounced ridge around its equator, which probably formed from ring particles that settled onto its surface. It is named after Atlas, the Titan of Greek mythology who was condemned to hold up the sky.

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