Polydeuces , also designated Saturn XXXIV, is a small trojan moon of Saturn occupying the trailing Lagrange point of Dione. It was discovered by the Cassini Imaging Science Team in images taken by the Cassini space probe on 21 October 2004. With a mean diameter of about , Polydeuces is thought to have a smooth surface coated with fine, icy particles accumulated from the cryovolcanic plumes of Enceladus. In its orbit around Saturn, Polydeuces periodically drifts away from Dione's Lagrange point due to gravitational perturbations by other nearby moons of Saturn. Of the four known trojan moons of Saturn, Polydeuces exhibits the largest displacement from its Lagrange point.

Discovery

Polydeuces was discovered by the Cassini Imaging Science Team on 24 October 2004 while routinely investigating images taken by the Cassini space probe earlier on 21 October 2004.

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  • Polydeuces In Depth, NASA Solar System Exploration, updated 19 December 2019
  • PIA08209: New Moon, NASA Photojournal, 28 June 2006
  • Cassini finds treasures among Saturn's rings, moons, Cassini news release via Spaceflight Now, 24 February 2005