Pallene’s 1981 cameo

How a single Voyager 2 frame was matched to a moon found 23 years later.

Published 2026-10-23

Cassini found Pallene in 2004.^[1]

An old photograph

It was then realised that Pallene had appeared in one Voyager 2 photograph on 23 August 1981, provisionally named S/1981 S 14 and estimated to orbit 200,000 km from Saturn.^[1]

Why no orbit then

It wasn’t visible in other images, so its orbit couldn’t be computed.^[1]

The match

Later comparisons showed it matched Pallene’s orbit, though NASA says Pallene was “possibly” first photographed then.^[1][2]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Pallene overview page.