Inuit group#S/2019 S 24

{{Short description|Category of satellites of Saturn}}

File:Animation of Saturn's Inuit group of satellites.gif}}{{·}}{{legend2|Lime| Ijiraq}}{{·}}{{legend2|Gold| Paaliaq}}{{·}}{{legend2|OrangeRed| Siarnaq}}{{·}}{{legend2|Cyan|Tarqeq}}]]

File:Saturn irregular moon orbits a vs. i.png, those above 90° are retrograde. The X-axis is labeled in terms of Saturn's Hill radius.]]

The Inuit group is a dynamical grouping of the prograde irregular satellites of Saturn which follow similar orbits. Their semi-major axes range between 11 and 19 Gm, their inclinations between 45° and 50°, and their eccentricities between 0.11 and 0.39. They take an average of 2 years to orbit Saturn.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) uses names taken from Inuit mythology for these moons.

The group appeared quite homogeneous in early observations, the satellites displaying light-red colour (colour indices B−V = 0.79 and V−R = 0.51, similar to that of the Gallic group){{Cite journal |last1=Grav |first1=Tommy |last2=Holman |first2=Matthew J. |author-link2=Matthew J. Holman |last3=Gladman |first3=Brett |author-link3=Brett J. Gladman |last4=Aksnes |first4=Kaare |author-link4=Kaare Aksnes |date=November 2003 |title=Photometric Survey of the Irregular Satellites |journal=Icarus |volume=166 |issue=1 |pages=33–45 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2003.07.005 |arxiv=astro-ph/0301016 |bibcode=2003Icar..166...33G }} and similar infrared spectra.{{Cite journal |last1=Grav |first1=Tommy |last2=Holman |first2=Matthew J. |author-link2=Matthew J. Holman |date=2004-04-20 |title=Near-Infrared Photometry of Irregular Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=605 |issue=2 |pages=L141–L144 |doi=10.1086/420881 |issn=0004-637X |arxiv=astro-ph/0312571 |bibcode=2004ApJ...605L.141G }} Recent observations, however, revealed that Ijiraq is distinctly redder than Paaliaq, Siarnaq and Kiviuq. In addition, unlike the other three, Ijiraq's spectrum does not display weak absorption near 0.7 μm. This feature is attributed to a possible water hydration.{{Cite journal |last1=Grav |first1=Tommy |last2=Bauer |first2=James |author-link2=James Bauer (astronomer) |date=2007-11-01 |title=A deeper look at the colors of the Saturnian irregular satellites |journal=Icarus |volume=191 |issue=1 |pages=267–285 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2007.04.020 |arxiv=astro-ph/0611590 |bibcode=2007Icar..191..267G }}

The spectral homogeneity (with the exception of Ijiraq) is consistent with a common origin in the break-up of a single object but the dispersion of the orbital parameters requires further explanation. Recently reported secular resonances among the members could provide the explanation of the post-collisional dispersion.

Names

The thirty six known members of the Inuit group are (sorted by distance from Saturn in their respective subgroups):

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
Name || Diameter (Km) || Period (days){{Cite web |title=Planetary Satellite Mean Elements |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/ |work=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=California Institute of Technology |date=25 January 2024}} || Subgroup
id=S/2023_S_6 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2023 S 6

3436.07Kiviuq
id=S/2023_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2023 S 1

3442.99Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 1

5445.51Kiviuq
id=S/2004_S_54 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2004 S 54

4446.42Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_22 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 22

3447.31Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_23 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 23

3447.80Kiviuq
id=S/2020_S_11 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2020 S 11

3448.35Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_25 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 25

4448.87Kiviuq
id=Kiviuq bgcolor=#bfb

|Kiviuq

19449.13Kiviuq
id=S/2023_S_2 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2023 S 2

3449.12Kiviuq
id=S/2004_S_55 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2004 S 55

3449.63Kiviuq
id=S/2005_S_4 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2005 S 4

5450.22Kiviuq
id=S/2020_S_12 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2020 S 12

3450.27Kiviuq
id=S/2020_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2020 S 1

4451.10Kiviuq
id=Ijiraq bgcolor=#bfb

|Ijiraq

15451.46Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_24 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 24

4452.11Kiviuq
id=S/2007_S_10 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2007 S 10

4453.26Kiviuq
id=S/2019_S_26 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2019 S 26

3454.51Kiviuq
id=S/2020_S_13 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2020 S 13

3454.60Kiviuq
id=S/2023_S_7 bgcolor=#bfb

|S/2023 S 7

4474.03Kiviuq
id=Paaliaq bgcolor=#fbb

|Paaliaq

30687.08Paaliaq
id=S/2023_S_19 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2023 S 19

3861.64Siarnaq
id=S/2004_S_31 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2004 S 31

5866.10Siarnaq
id=S/2023_S_3 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2023 S 3

3873.04Siarnaq
id=S/2019_S_32 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2019 S 32

5880.08Siarnaq
id=Tarqeq bgcolor=#bbf

|Tarqeq

7884.98Siarnaq
id=S/2019_S_14 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2019 S 14

4893.14Siarnaq
id=S/2020_S_19 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2020 S 19

3891.98Siarnaq
id=Siarnaq bgcolor=#bbf

|Siarnaq

39.3895.87Siarnaq
id=S/2005_S_6 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2005 S 6

4896.45Siarnaq
id=S/2020_S_3 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2020 S 3

3907.99Siarnaq
id=S/2004_S_58 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2004 S 58

5914.46Siarnaq
id=S/2006_S_23 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2006 S 23

3914.89Siarnaq
id=S/2019_S_6 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2019 S 6

4919.71Siarnaq
id=S/2020_S_5 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2020 S 5

3933.88Siarnaq
id=S/2023_S_22 bgcolor=#bbf

|S/2023 S 22

4933.97Siarnaq

See also

References

{{reflist|2}}