Calypso's Cosmic Dance Trivia Quiz

Answer: Trojan moons

Calypso is one of the four Trojan moons of Saturn. Trojan moons are natural satellites that share their orbits with several other satellites. In the case of Calypso, it is partnered with one larger moon of Saturn and another moon of roughly similar size.

In the 2020s Saturn is the only planet in the Solar System known to have Trojan moons, though there may be other such objects that have not yet been discovered either within or outside of the Solar System..

Answer: Ni'ihau (30 km / 18.6 mi)

Calypso is a small irregular shaped moon. According to Wikipedia, the dimensions of Calypso are approximately 29.4 km (18.3 mi) x 18.6 km (11.6 mi) x 12.8 km (8.0 mi).

The island of Niʻihau is both the second smallest and the westernmost of the eight major islands that make up the American state of Hawaii. At its largest dimension, Ni'ihau is approximately 30 km (18.6 mi) across.

Answer: Tethys

Calypso's larger companion is the spherical moon Tethys. Tethys is the fifth largest moon of Saturn, with a diameter of approximately 1,062 km (660 mi). Its surface looks similar to Earth's moon with some photos showing a more yellowish tint.

Saturn's fourth largest moon, Dione, is the parent moon of Helene and Polydeuces, Saturn's other two Trojan moons. Dione is slightly larger than Tethys with a diameter of approximately 1,123 km (698 mi).

Answer: Telesto

Calypso's other Trojan companion is named Telesto, which is slightly larger than Calypso. The two Trojan moons sit at what are called the Lagrange points of their parent moon. These are like gravitational "sweet spots" where the gravity of Saturn and the gravity of Tethys balance out to a point where the two smaller moons can co-habitate within Tethys' orbit with minimal risk of collision or escape.

Telesto sits at Tethys' leading Lagrange point (ahead of Tethys), while Calypso sits at the trailing Lagrange point (behind Tethys). Dione, Helene and Polydeuces have a similar arrangement.

Answer: 45 hours

Tethys, Telesto and Calypso all orbit approximately 294,660 km (183,000 mi) from Saturn. This is closer than the orbit between the Moon and the Earth.

All three satellites complete one orbit around Saturn in approximately 45 hours. In addition, the three satellites are tidally locked to Saturn, which means they rotate once on their axes in the same amount of time while keeping the same face on Saturn.

Answer: Before

Calypso was discovered by a team of scientists via an Earth-based observatory on March 13, 1980. Its Trojan companion, Telesto was discovered several weeks later on April 8, 1980 by another team of scientists.

Voyager 1 arrived at Saturn on November 12, 1980, several months after the discovery of Calypso and Telesto. However, photos of the two small moons taken by Voyager 1 allowed scientists to study their orbital behavior, which led to their special designation as Trojan moons.

Answer: Navy

Dan Pascu and P. Kenneth Seidelmann are two of the four scientists who were credited with discovering Calypso. Both scientists worked at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. The residence of the Vice President of the United States is located in the same area as the observatory.

The other two scientists credited with the discovery of Calypso were William A. Baum and Douglas G. Currie.

Answer: Atlas

In Greek mythology, Calypso was one of several thousand spiritual entities called nymphs. Calypso was used as a prominent character in Homer's epic poem "The Odyssey".

Calypso is the daughter of the Titan named Atlas, who was famously condemned to hold the heavens on his shoulders by Zeus after the Titans were defeated by the Olympian gods. Atlas' name was given to another of Saturn's moons, which was discovered in October, 1980. Atlas is a shepherd moon whose gravity helps maintain Saturn's A ring.

Answer: Cassini

The Cassini-Huygens probe was launched on October 15, 1997. The spacecraft's primary mission was to study Saturn and its large family of moons. Cassini made a close-up fly-by of Calypso and Telesto specifically in February, 2010.

Cassini would continue to study Saturn and its kin until September 15, 2017, when the spacecraft took a suicide dive deep into Saturn's thick atmosphere, gathering as much scientific data it possibly could until its inevitable destruction.

Answer: Enceladus

During Cassini's mission to Saturn, it was discovered that the moon named Enceladus contained active geysers that released water vapor into orbit around Saturn. The water vapor contributes to Saturn's faint E ring, which is where the orbits of Calypso, Telesto, Tethys and several other moons reside.

These water-ice particles ejected from Enceladus rain down on Calypso and its partners like a cosmic snow shower, which helps to make them some of the brightest objects observed from within the entire Solar System.