Kiviuq (moon)

Kiviuq is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by J. J. Kavelaars et al. in 2000,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 5.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was named after Kiviuq, a hero of Inuit mythology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kiviuq is about 17 km in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 11.3 million kilometers in 449 days. It is a member of the Inuit group of irregular satellites. It is light red, and the Kiviupian (Kiviuqan)Template:Efn 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.<ref name="Grav2006">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Gladman2001">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Kiviuq is believed to be in Kozai resonance, cyclically reducing its orbital inclination while increasing the eccentricity and vice versa.<ref name="Cuk2004">Template:Cite journal</ref> Its current orbital elements overlap strongly with Phoebe's orbit, and the moons will likely eventually collide with each other.<ref name="Denk2018">Template:Cite book</ref>

The light curve amplitude of Kiviuq is large, varying in brightness by over 2 magnitudes. The large amplitude of Kiviuq suggests that it has an elongated shape, and may be a possible contact binary.<ref name="LPSC2654">Template:Cite conference</ref>

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 this data, the rotation period was measured to be 21 hours and 49 minutes.<ref name="DenkMottola2011">Template:Cite conference</ref>

Notes

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External links

• David Jewitt pages
• Ephemeris from IAU-MPC NSES