Two and Traces

Cassini called this one "Pan in the Fast Lane". We see here Pan in the Encke Gap - inside the rings - and Atlas in the broad space between the A ring (which contains the Encke Gap) and the wispy F ring. The F ring looks so ragged because Prometheus has just gone by, leaving turbulence in its wake. Because Pan is around 2500 miles closer (some 4000 km) to Saturn than Atlas, its orbit is shorter and thus it constantly overtakes and passes its slightly larger sibling.

Pan is closest in, so it laps all the moons, not just Atlas. Think of runners on a track - no staggered start or changing lanes here.


As always, see the Cassini-Huygens site for details.