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Inuit group

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(Redirected from Saturn's Inuit group of satellites) Category of satellites of Saturn
Animation of Saturn's Inuit group of satellites
   Kiviuq ·    Ijiraq ·    Paaliaq ·    Siarnaq ·   Tarqeq
Diagram illustrating the orbits of the irregular satellites of Saturn, showing the three Inuit subgroups. The inclination and semi-major axis are represented on the Y and X-axis, respectively. The satellites with inclinations below 90° are prograde, those above 90° are retrograde. The X-axis is labeled in terms of Saturn's Hill radius.

The Inuit group is a dynamical grouping of the prograde irregular satellites of Saturn which follow similar orbits. Their semi-major axes range between 11 and 19 Gm, their inclinations between 45° and 50°, and their eccentricities between 0.11 and 0.39. They take an average of 2 years to orbit Saturn.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) uses names taken from Inuit mythology for these moons.

The group appeared quite homogeneous in early observations, the satellites displaying light-red colour (colour indices B−V = 0.79 and V−R = 0.51, similar to that of the Gallic group) and similar infrared spectra. Recent observations, however, revealed that Ijiraq is distinctly redder than Paaliaq, Siarnaq and Kiviuq. In addition, unlike the other three, Ijiraq's spectrum does not display weak absorption near 0.7 μm. This feature is attributed to a possible water hydration.

The spectral homogeneity (with the exception of Ijiraq) is consistent with a common origin in the break-up of a single object but the dispersion of the orbital parameters requires further explanation. Recently reported secular resonances among the members could provide the explanation of the post-collisional dispersion.

Names

The thirteen known members of the Inuit group are (sorted by distance from Saturn in their respective subgroups):

Name Diameter (Km) Period (days)
S/2019 S 1 6 445.51
Kiviuq 19 449.13
S/2005 S 4 5 450.22
S/2020 S 1 4 451.10
Ijiraq 15 451.46
Paaliaq 30 687.08
S/2004 S 31 5 866.10
Tarqeq 7 884.98
S/2019 S 14 4 893.14
Siarnaq 39.3 895.87
S/2020 S 3 3 907.99
S/2019 S 6 4 919.71
S/2020 S 5 3 933.88

See also

References

  1. Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J.; Gladman, Brett; Aksnes, Kaare (November 2003). "Photometric Survey of the Irregular Satellites". Icarus. 166 (1): 33–45. arXiv:astro-ph/0301016. Bibcode:2003Icar..166...33G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.07.005.
  2. Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J. (2004-04-20). "Near-Infrared Photometry of Irregular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn". The Astrophysical Journal. 605 (2): L141–L144. arXiv:astro-ph/0312571. Bibcode:2004ApJ...605L.141G. doi:10.1086/420881. ISSN 0004-637X.
  3. Grav, Tommy; Bauer, James (2007-11-01). "A deeper look at the colors of the Saturnian irregular satellites". Icarus. 191 (1): 267–285. arXiv:astro-ph/0611590. Bibcode:2007Icar..191..267G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.04.020.
  4. "Planetary Satellite Mean Elements". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. California Institute of Technology. 25 January 2024.

External links

Mean orbital parameters: from JPL

Moons of Saturn
Listed in approximate increasing distance from Saturn
Ring moonlets
Ring shepherds
Other inner moons
Alkyonides
Large moons
(with trojans)
Inuit group (13)
Kiviuq subgroup
Paaliaq subgroup
Siarnaq subgroup
Gallic group (7)
Norse group (100)
Phoebe subgroup
Outlier prograde
irregular moons
  • S/2006 S 12
  • S/2004 S 24
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