Sao

Sao — moon orbiting Neptune, explore its interactive 3D model in Cosmoscope.

Explore Sao in a live 3D Solar System. Follow its calculated motion and inspect real astronomical data, distances and orbital facts.

Sao takes about 8 years to circle Neptune, some 22 million km out, on an orbit tilted about 50 degrees. With Laomedeia and S/2002 N5 it forms the Sao group of moons on similar orbits — probably pieces of one larger moon broken apart in a collision.

Radius

~13 km

Orbit

22.2 million km from Neptune

Period

8.0 years

Discovered

2002 — Holman, Kavelaars, Grav and colleagues, Chile

Orbit shape

Forwards but tilted ~50°; the Sun’s pull keeps changing it

Family

Sao group, with Laomedeia and S/2002 N5

Size

About 26 km across, estimated from its brightness

Explore Sao in 3D

Cosmoscope places Sao in the Solar System using astronomical ephemeris or orbital elements, updated for the simulation time. Explore its calculated motion, distance and orbital facts in the interactive 3D view. Accuracy depends on the orbital model and its valid time range.