Suttungr (moon)
Suttungr (/ˈsʊtʊŋər/ SUUT-uung-ər), or Saturn XXIII, is a natural satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by Brett J. Gladman, et al. in 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 12. It was named for Suttungr in Norse mythology, a Jötunn or giant who once owned the mead of poetry.
Suttungr is about 7 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 19,667 Mm in 1029.703 days. It may have formed from debris knocked off of Phoebe. The Suttungian orbit is retrograde, at an inclination of 174° to the ecliptic (151° to Saturn's equator) and with an eccentricity of 0.131.
Its name was announced as Suttung in IAU Circular 8177. However, the IAU Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature later decided to add the nominative case ending -r to the base form Suttungr.
References
- IAUC 7548: S/2000 S 12 December 23, 2000 (discovery)
- MPEC 2000-Y33: S/2000 S 12 December 22, 2000 (recovery/discovery and ephemeris)
- IAUC 8177: Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus August 8, 2003 (naming the moon Suttung)
- IAUC 8471: Satellites of Saturn January 21, 2005 (correcting the name)