Tarvos (moon)
Template:Short description Template:Infobox planet
Tarvos Template:IPAc-en, or Saturn XXI, is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by John J. Kavelaars et al. on September 23, 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 4. The name, given in August 2003, is after Tarvos, a deity depicted as a bull god carrying three cranes alongside its back from Gaulish mythology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Orbit
Tarvos orbits Saturn at an average distance of 18 million km in 926 days and is about 15 km in diameter (assuming an albedo of 0.06).<ref name="LPSC2654">Template:Cite conference</ref> It has a high orbital eccentricity of 0.53.<ref name="JPL">SAT452 from Template:Cite web</ref>
It is a member of the Gallic group of irregular satellites.
Origin
With a similar orbit and displaying a similar light-red colour to Albiorix, Tarvos is thought to have its origin in the break-up of a common progenitor<ref name="Grav2003">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Gladman2001">Template:Cite journal</ref> or to be a fragment of that body.<ref name="Grav2006">Template:Cite journal</ref>
References
External links
- Ephemeris IAU-MPC NSES
- Saturn's Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)