Phoebe is an irregular

Irregular satellite

In astronomy, an irregular moon is a natural satellite following a distant, inclined, and often eccentric and retrograde orbit. They are believed to have been captured by their parent planet, unlike regular satellites, which form in situ....

 satellite

Natural satellite

A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....

 of Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...

. It was discovered by William Henry Pickering

William Henry Pickering

William Henry Pickering was an American astronomer, brother of Edward Charles Pickering. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1883.-Work:...

 on 17 March 1899 from photographic plates that had been taken starting on 16 August 1898 at the Boyden Observatory

Boyden Observatory

Boyden Observatory is a South African astronomical research observatory and science education centre.-History:The observatory was originally founded in 1889 by the Harvard University at Mount Hardvard near Lima, Peru, but relocated to Arequipa, Peru in October 1890.Significant work done at Arequipa...

 near Arequipa

Arequipa

Arequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, by DeLisle Stewart

DeLisle Stewart

DeLisle Stewart was an American astronomer.In 1896 he became a staff member of Harvard College Observatory, and from 1898 to 1901 he worked at that observatory's station at Arequipa, Peru, where he took the photographic plates that William Henry Pickering used to discover Saturn's moon Phoebe...

. It was the first satellite to be discovered photographically.

Phoebe was the first target encountered upon the arrival of Cassini–Huygens to the Saturn system in 2004, and is thus unusually well-studied for a natural satellite of its size.