The God Pan
"In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is also recognized as the god of fields, groves, wooded glens and often affiliated with sex; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism. The word panic ultimately derives from the god's name"
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Asteroid 4450 Pan
"4450 Pan, provisional designation 1987 SY, is a highly eccentric asteroid and contact binary, classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 1.1 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered on 25 September 1987, by American astronomers Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. It was named after Pan from Greek mythology.
Orbit and classification
Pan orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 0.6–2.3 AU once every 1 years and 9 months (633 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.59 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.
As an Apollo asteroid, it is an Earth-crosser and has a minimum orbit intersection distance with Earth of 0.0287 AU (4,290,000 km), which corresponds to 11.2 lunar distances. Due to its extremely eccentric orbit, it is also a Venus- and Mars-crosser and approaches Mercury within 20 Gm.
It was first identified as 1937 CA at Heidelberg Observatory in 1937. The body's observation arc begins at Palomar with its official discovery observation.
Physical characteristics
Pan is an assumed stony S-type asteroid.
Contact binary
Pan is a contact binary, composed of two lobes in mutual contact, held together only by their weak gravitational attraction, and typically show a dumbbell-like shape (also see 4769 Castalia). A large number of near-Earth objects are thought to be contact binaries.
Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 1.1 kilometers, while photometric observations by Italian Albino Carbognani at Saint-Barthelemy Observatory (B04) gave a diameter of 1.0±0.2 kilometers.
Rotation period
In September 2013, a rotational lightcurve of Pan was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Station (716) in Colorado. It gave a long rotation period of 56.48±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.64 in magnitude (U=3).
The results supersedes two previous observations by Petr Pravec at Silvano Casulli that gave a period of 60±12 and 3.51±0.02 hours, respectively (U=2/1).
Naming
This minor planet was named after Pan, the Greek god of nature, shepherds of flocks and wild animals.
In art, he was represented as a horned half-man, half goat. Pan was worshiped by the citizens of Athens, after he had inspired panic in the hearts of their Persians enemies in the Battle of Marathon (also see 4356 Marathon). The modern word "panic" origins from this myth. The name Pan has also been given to Saturn XVIII, one of the moons of Saturn. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 January 1991 (M.P.C. 17657)."
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Saturn Moon Pan
"Pan is the innermost named moon of Saturn. It is a small, walnut-shaped moon approximately 35 kilometres across and 23 km wide that orbits within the Encke Gap in Saturn's A Ring. Pan is a ring shepherd and is responsible for keeping the Encke Gap free of ring particles.
It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter in 1990 from analysis of old Voyager 2 probe photos and received the provisional designation S/1981 S 13 because the discovery images dated back to 1981
Prediction and discovery
The existence of a moon in the Encke Gap was first predicted by Jeffrey N. Cuzzi and Jeffrey D. Scargle in 1985, based on wavy edges of the gap which indicated a gravitational disturbance. In 1986 Showalter et al. inferred its orbit and mass by modeling its gravitational wake. They arrived at a very precise prediction of 133,603 ± 10 km for the semi-major axis and a mass of 5–10×10-12 Saturn masses, and inferred that there was only a single moon within the Encke gap.[6] The actual semi-major axis differs by 19 km and the actual mass is 8.6×10-12 of Saturn's.
The moon was later found within 1° of the predicted position. The search was undertaken by considering all Voyager 2 images and using a computer calculation to predict whether the moon would be visible under sufficiently favorable conditions in each one. Every qualifying Voyager 2 image with resolution better than ~50 km/pixel shows Pan clearly. In all, it appears in eleven Voyager 2 images.
Name
The moon was named on 16 September 1991,[9] after the mythological Pan, who was (among other things) the god of shepherds. This is a reference to Pan's role as a shepherd moon. It is also designated Saturn XVIII.
Orbit
The eccentricity of Pan's orbit causes its distance from Saturn to vary by ~4 km. Its inclination, which would cause it to move up and down, is not distinguishable from zero with present data. The Encke Gap, within which Pan orbits, is about 325 km wide.
Geography
Cassini scientists have described Pan as "walnut-shaped"] owing to the equatorial ridge, similar to that on Atlas, that is visible in images. The ridge is due to ring material that Pan has swept up from the Encke gap. It has also been referred to by journalists as a space empanada, a form of stuffed bread or pastry, as well as a ravioli.
Pandean ringlet
The Encke Gap contains a ringlet that is coincident with Pan's orbit, indicating that Pan maintains the particles in horseshoe orbits.[14] A second ringlet is periodically disrupted by Pan, similarly to how the F Ring is disturbed by Prometheus."
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The Statue In Sheffield Botanical Gardens
"...Situated close to the city centre Sheffield Botanical Gardens were opened in 1836 and now cover 19 acres on a south-west sloping site. The Gardens are listed by English Heritage as a Grade II site of special historic and architectural interest. The Grade 2 Glass Pavilions house a wonderful collection of plants from the temperate areas of the world and provide a wonderful backdrop for the sweeping lawns with their magnificent trees and central Broadwalk..."
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"...At the centre of the Rose Garden stands the restored statue of Pan, Spirit of the Woods. This was donated to the City of Sheffield in 1934 by Sir Charles Clifford and moved to the Gardens in 1952. Pan and all his attendant animals, imps and birds are hugely popular, with favourite animals polished by generations of fingers. After 50 years of affection and weathering, however, Pan was in real need of extensive delicate care. The statue has been beautifully restored, (but without his musical pipe), and the finished work looks wonderful..."
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