Paaliaq is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by J. J. Kavelaars, Brett J. Gladman, Jean-Marc Petit, Hans Scholl, Matthew J. Holman, Brian G. Marsden, Philip D. Nicholson and Joseph A. Burns in early October 2000,[6][7][8] and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 2. It was named in August 2003 after a fictional shaman in the book The Curse of the Shaman, written by Michael Kusugak, who supplied Kavelaars with the names of giants from Inuit mythology that were used for other Saturnian moons.[9]
 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 (1.88 yr) | |
| Inclination | 47.1° |
| Satellite of | Saturn |
| Group | Inuit group (Paaliaq) |
| Physical characteristics[3] | |
| 14.5 km | |
| Mass | 2.94×1016 kg (calculated) |
Mean density | 2.3 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| 18.79±0.09 h[4] | |
| Albedo | 0.06 (assumed) |
Spectral type | red B−V=0.86, R−V=0.40[5] D[5] |
| 21.3[4] | |
| 11.38±0.26 (V) | |
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 the Inuit group of irregular satellites.
It is light red in color, and in the infrared the Paaliapian (Paaliaqan)[a] spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Kiviuq and Siarnaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.[5][10] Its light curve has an unusual pattern of four minima, suggesting that it has a very peculiar shape.[4]
Notes
edit- ^ a b The genitive form of Paaliaq is Paaliap. Thus the adjectival form could be absolutive Paaliaqian or genitive Paaliapian, parallel to nominative Venusian and genitive Venerian for Venus. See Inuktitut morphology
References
edit- ^ Discovery Circumstances (JPL)
- ^ "Planetary Satellite Mean Elements". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov.
- ^ Emelyanov, N. V.; Varfolomeev, M. I.; Lainey, V. (24 March 2022). "New ephemerides of outer planetary satellites". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 512 (2): 2044–2050. doi:10.1093/mnras/stac586.
- ^ a b c Denk, Tilmann; Mottola, Stefano; Tosi, Frederico; Bottke, William F.; Hamilton, Douglas P. (2018). "The Irregular Satellites of Saturn" (PDF). In Schenk, Paul M.; Clark, Roger N.; Howett, Carly J. A.; Verbiscer, Anne J.; Waite, J. Hunter (eds.). Enceladus and the Icy Moons of Saturn. Space Science Series. Vol. 322. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press. pp. 409–434. Bibcode:2018eims.book..409D. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816537075-ch020. ISBN 9780816537075.
- ^ a b c Grav, T.; Bauer, J. (2007-03-08) [2006-11-18]. "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. S2CID 15710195.
- ^ Kavelaars, J. J.; Holman, M. J.; Grav, T.; Milisavljevic, D.; Fraser, W.; Gladman, B. J.; Petit, J. -M.; Rousselot, P.; Mousis, O.; Nicholson, P. D. (2004-06-01). "The discovery of faint irregular satellites of Uranus". Icarus. 169 (2): 474. Bibcode:2004Icar..169..474K. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.01.009. ISSN 0019-1035.
- ^ "IAUC 7512: S/2000 S 1, S/2000 S 2". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu. 25 October 2000.
- ^ "MPEC 2000-Y15 : S/2000 S 1, S/2000 S 2, S/2000 S 7, S/2000 S 8, S/2000 S 9". minorplanetcenter.net. 19 December 2000.
- ^ Petten, Cheryl. "Naming Saturn's moons". Ammsa.com. Aboriginal Multi-Media Society.
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.
- ^ Gladman, Brett; Kavelaars, J. J.; Holman, Matthew; Nicholson, Philip D.; Burns, Joseph A.; Hergenrother, Carl W.; Petit, Jean-Marc; Marsden, Brian G.; Jacobson, Robert; Gray, William; Grav, Tommy (2001-07-12). "Discovery of 12 satellites of Saturn exhibiting orbital clustering". Nature. 412 (6843): 163–166. Bibcode:2001Natur.412..163G. doi:10.1038/35084032. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 11449267. S2CID 4420031.