Orbit and Rotation
Titan orbits Saturn once every 15 days and 22 hours. Like many of the other satellites of the gas giants and Earth's Moon, its rotational period is identical to its orbital period; Titan is thus tidally locked in synchronous rotation with Saturn, and always shows one face to the planet. Because of this, there is a sub-Saturnian point on its surface, from which the planet would appear to hang directly overhead. Longitudes on Titan are measured westward from the meridian passing through this point. Its orbital eccentricity is 0.0288, and the orbital plane is inclined 0.348 degrees relative to the Saturnian equator. Viewed from Earth, the moon reaches an angular distance of about 20 Saturn radii (just over 1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn and subtends a disk 0.8 arcseconds in diameter.
The small, irregularly shaped satellite Hyperion is locked in a 3:4 orbital resonance with Titan. A "slow and smooth" evolution of the resonance—in which Hyperion would have migrated from a chaotic orbit—is considered unlikely, based on models. Hyperion probably formed in a stable orbital island, while the massive Titan absorbed or ejected bodies that made close approaches.
Read more about this topic: Titan (moon)
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