TARGET_DESCRIPTION |
'S24 KIVIUQ' and 'KIVIUQ' refer to the same target.
Kiviuq is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered
by Brett J. Gladman in 2000, and given the temporary designation
S/2000 S 5.
It was named in 2003 after a 'giant' of Inuit mythology. Kiviuq
(also spelled Keeveeok, Qiviuq or Kivioq) is a legendary and heroic
Inuk, a sort of Inuit Odysseus. He has lived very long (or has had
several lives), has wandered and journeyed, living all sorts of
adventures whose details depend on the story-teller's local tradition.
Kiviuq is about 16 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an
average distance of 11.1 million kilometers in 450 days. It is a
member of the Inuit group of irregular satellites.
Kiviuq displays light-red colours and the infrared spectrum very
similar to Siarnaq and Paaliaq, further supporting the thesis of a
possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger
body.
Kiviuq is believed to be in Kozai resonance i.e. cyclically reducing
the orbital inclination while increasing the eccentricity and vice
versa.
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