Discovered by R. Terrile Date of Discovery 1980 Distance from Saturn 137,670 km Radius 18.5 × 17.2 × 13.5 km Mass ??? Orbital Eccentricity 0.000 Orbital Inclination 0.3° Orbital Period 0.6019 day Rotational Period ??? Density (gm/cm3) ???
Tiny, irregular Atlas orbits Saturn near the outside of the A ring. Saturn's rings are identified by letters, ascending from the inside out. Atlas is Saturn's second closest satellite. Atlas's location within a ring makes it a shepherding moon. This means it limits the size of its nearby ring through gravitational forces. It was discovered by means of imagery from the Voyager 1 probe.
Sources: NASA.gov space.com