Kiviuq (moon)

Kiviuq – Saturn XXIV
Discovery [1]
Discovered by B. J. Gladman et al.
Discovered in 2000
Mean Orbital elements [2]
Epoch 2000 Feb. 26.00
Semi-major axis 11.111 Gm
Eccentricity 0.3288
Inclination 45.71° *
Orbital period 449.22 d
(1.23 yr)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter 16 km[3] **
Rotation period 21 h 49 min[4]
Albedo 0.04[3] assumed
Color light red B-V=0.87
R-V=0.66[5]/0.48[6]
Spectral type D[6]

*to the ecliptic

**based on the albedo

Kiviuq (/ˈkɪvi.ʌk/ KIV-ee-uk or /ˈkiːvi.oʊk/ KEE-vee-ohk) is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by Brett J. Gladman in 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 5.[7][8] It was named after Kiviuq, a hero of Inuit mythology.[9]

Kiviuq is about 16 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 11.1 million kilometers in 450 days. It is a member of the Inuit group of irregular satellites. It is light red, and the Kiviupian (Kiviuqan) infrared spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Siarnaq and Paaliaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.[6][10]

Kiviuq is believed to be in Kozai resonance, cyclically reducing its orbital inclination while increasing the eccentricity and vice versa.[11]

Exploration

On 30 August 2010, the ISS camera of the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft took light-curve data from a distance of 9.3 million km. With these data, the rotation period was measured to 21 hours and 49 minutes.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Discovery Circumstances (JPL)
  2. ↑ Mean orbital parameters from JPL
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Scott Sheppard pages
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 T. Denk, S. Mottola, et al. (2011): Rotation Periods of Irregular Satellites of Saturn. EPSC/DPS conference 2011, Nantes (France), abstract 1452.
  5. ↑ Grav, T.; Holman, M. J.; Gladman, B. J.; Aksnes, K.; Photometric survey of the irregular satellites, Icarus, 166 (2003), pp. 33–45
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Grav, T.; and Bauer, J.; A deeper look at the colors of Saturnian irregular satellites
  7. ↑ IAUC 7521: S/2000 S 5, S/2000 S 6 November 18, 2000 (discovery)
  8. ↑ MPEC 2000-Y14: S/2000 S 3, S/2000 S 4, S/2000 S 5, S/2000 S 6, S/2000 S 10 December 19, 2000 (discovery and ephemeris)
  9. ↑ IAUC 8177: Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus August 8, 2003 (naming the moon)
  10. ↑ Gladman, B. J.; Nicholson, P. D.; Burns, J. A.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Marsden, B. G.; Holman, M. J.; Grav, T.; Hergenrother, C. W.; Petit, J.-M.; Jacobson, R. A.; and Gray, W. J.; Discovery of 12 satellites of Saturn exhibiting orbital clustering, Nature, 412 (July 12. 2001), pp. 163–166
  11. ↑ Ćuk, M.; and Burns, J. A.; On the Secular Behavior of Irregular Satellites, The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 128 (2004), pp. 2518–2541

External links

Listen to this article (info/dl)


This audio file was created from a revision of the "Kiviuq (moon)" article dated 2010-02-06, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)
More spoken articles