Discovery of Daphnis

Daphnis is a tiny moon of Saturn, only about eight kilometres across, discovered in May 2005 in images taken by the Cassini spacecraft. It orbits inside the Keeler Gap, a narrow gap near the outer edge of Saturn's A ring, and its gravity sweeps the gap clear of ring particles. Cassini images showed that Daphnis creates wavy patterns on the edges of the gap as it passes, a clear demonstration of how moons shape rings. The moon is named for Daphnis, a shepherd of Greek myth who was a son of Hermes in some versions and who was famed for his skill in music.

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