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True satellite vs captive body?


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Hi,

While reading about Phoebe (not the one in Friends!), I read the following "... is probably a captured body rather than a bona-fide satellite" - written by Patrick More, so I take it as correct.

But why do we think this?

What is special about a satellite that means a captive body is not bona-fide?

Cheers,

Karl.

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I think what he means is that a "bona-fide" satellite is an object that was formed from the same initial material at the parent body, whereas a captured body is an object that the parent body's gravitational pull has captured since it's formation.

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I think what he means is that a "bona-fide" satellite is an object that was formed from the same initial material at the parent body, whereas a captured body is an object that the parent body's gravitational pull has captured since it's formation.

I'm sure that's the point.

Olly

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I think what he means is that a "bona-fide" satellite is an object that was formed from the same initial material at the parent body, whereas a captured body is an object that the parent body's gravitational pull has captured since it's formation.
Indeed ... but all "natural" satellites are captured material in some respect - either they formed from the same material which formed the "parent" object or they formed somewhere else and were captured subsequently.

Now Phoebe has an orbit which is very eccentric and nowhere near the plane of Saturn's rotation. Doesn't look like a natural member of the Saturn family, does it?

Similarly Triton is a captured object ... its orbit is retrograde so it couldn't possibly have formed at the same time and place as Neptune.

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