Fornjot (moon)
Appearance
![]() Fornjot imaged by the Cassini spacecraft in March 2014 | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Scott S. Sheppard David C. Jewitt Jan T. Kleyna Brian G. Marsden |
Discovery date | December 2004 |
Designations | |
Designation | Saturn XLII |
Pronunciation | /ˈfɔːrnjoʊt/ Icelandic: [ˈfɔ(r)tnˌjouːt] |
Named after | Fornjót |
S/2004 S 8 | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
25108000 km | |
Eccentricity | 0.206 |
−1490.9 days | |
Inclination | 170.4° |
Satellite of | Saturn |
Group | Norse group |
Physical characteristics | |
6+50% −30% km[2] | |
(7 or 9.5) ± 0.4? h[2] | |
24.6 | |
Fornjot /ˈfɔːrnjoʊt/ or Saturn XLII is the third outermost natural satellite of Saturn (after S/2004 S 34 and S/2004 S 26). Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden on 4 May 2005 from observations taken between 12 December 2004, and 11 March 2005.
It is about 6 kilometres in diameter, and it orbits Saturn at an average distance of 23,609 Mm in 1491 d at an inclination of 168° to the ecliptic (160° to Saturn's equator) in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.186. It has an ambiguous rotation period of 7 or 9.5±0.4 hours.[2]
Fornjot was named after Fornjót, a giant in Norse mythology.
References
- ^ S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Saturn, Carnegie Science, on line
- ^ a b c Denk, T.; Mottola, S. (2019). Cassini Observations of Saturn's Irregular Moons (PDF). 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lunar and Planetary Institute.
- Institute for Astronomy Saturn Satellite Data
- Jewitt's New Satellites of Saturn page
- IAUC 8523: New Satellites of Saturn[permanent dead link] May 4, 2005 (discovery)
- MPEC 2005-J13: Twelve New Satellites of Saturn May 3, 2005 (discovery and ephemeris)
- IAUC 8826: Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn[permanent dead link] April 5, 2007 (naming the moon)