 Time lapse of Paaliaq moving along its orbit that lead to its discovery | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. J. Kavelaars et al. |
| Discovery date | October 2000 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Saturn XX |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɑːli.ɑːk/ |
| S/2000 S 2 | |
| Adjectives | Paaliapian, Paaliaqian[a] |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 2000 January 1.5 | |
| 14 997 300 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.384 |
| 687.1 d (1.88yr) | |
| Inclination | 47.1° |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Group | Inuit group (Paaliaq) |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
| 22 km[4] | |
| Mass | 2.94×1016 kg (calculated) |
Meandensity | 2.3 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| 18.79±0.09 h[5] | |
| Albedo | 0.06 (assumed) |
Spectral type | red B−V=0.86, R−V=0.40[6] D[6] |
| 21.3[5] | |
| 11.38±0.26 (V) | |
Paaliaq is aprogradeirregular satellite ofSaturn. It was discovered byJ. J. Kavelaars,Brett J. Gladman,Jean-Marc Petit,Hans Scholl,Matthew J. Holman,Brian G. Marsden,Philip D. Nicholson andJoseph A. Burns in early October 2000,[7][8][9] and given the temporary designationS/2000 S 2. It was named in August 2003 after a fictional shaman in the bookThe Curse of the Shaman, written byMichael Kusugak, who supplied Kavelaars with the names of giants fromInuit mythology that were used for other Saturnian moons.[10]
Paaliaq is thought to be about 29 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 15.0 million km in 687 days. It is a member of theInuit group of irregular satellites.
It is light red in color, and in theinfrared the Paaliapian (Paaliaqan)[a] spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellitesKiviuq andSiarnaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.[6][11] Itslight curve has an unusual pattern of four minima, suggesting that it has a very peculiar shape.[5]
The fourth name, Paaliaq, is a character Kusugak created in his latest book, Marble Island-The Curse of the Shaman, which Kusugak is currently trying to get published. The characters Kiviuq and Siarnaq are also found in the book.
Listed in approximate increasing distance from Saturn | |||||||||
| Inner ring moons | |||||||||
| Co-orbitals | |||||||||
| Ring-embedded moons | |||||||||
| Major moons (withtrojans) | |||||||||
| Inuit group (36) |
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| Gallic group (17) | |||||||||
| Norse group (197) |
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| See also | |||||||||
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Moons | |
| Astronomy | |
| Exploration | |
| Related | |
