TARGET_DESCRIPTION |
'S20 PAALIAQ' and 'PAALIAQ' refer to the same target.
Skoll (provisional designation S/2000 S 2).
Paaliaq is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was
discovered by Brett J. Gladman, John J. Kavelaars, Jean-Marc
Petit, Hans Scholl, Matthew J. Holman, Brian G. Marsden, Philip
D. Nicholson and Joseph A. Burns in early October 2000, 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.
Paaliaq is thought to be about 22 kilometres in diameter, and orbits
Saturn at an average distance of 15.2 Gm in 687 days. It is a member
of the Inuit group of irregular satellites. It also has a proximity
with 9 other moons reaching up to ten miles from each.
Together with Kiviuq and Siarnaq, Paaliaq displays light-red colours
and similar infrared spectrum, further supporting the thesis of a
possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger
body.
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