Saturn moons: now there are 15

October 29, 1980

Voyager 1, racing toward a Nov. 12 rendezvous with Saturn, has discov ered two new satellites around it. The instrument-packed spacecraft, only about 12. 86 million miles from Saturn, has traveled over 1.33 billion miles since its launching from Cape Canaveral, Fla., three years ago.

The spacecraft sent back thousands of spectacular pictures of the colorful bands, swirls, and spots in the atmosphere of Jupiter when it explored that planet 20 months ago. The face of Saturn has appeared tranquil in comparison, possibly because of a thick haze that Voyager's telescopic cameras are beginning to penetrate.

In addition to studying Saturn and its rings, Voyager 1 will examine at least 6 of the planet's 15 known moons, including Titan, particularly puzzling because of its mysterious reddish atmosphere.