File:Skathi-discovery-CFHT.gif · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Brett J. Gladman , John J. Kavelaars et al.
- Discovery site
- Mauna Kea Observatory
- Discovery date
- September 23, 2000
- Designation
- Saturn XXVII
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ s k ɑː ð i / (with the PASTA vowel)
- Named after
- Skaði
- Alternative names
- S/2000 S 8
- Semi major axis
- 15 541 000 km
- Orbital period sidereal
- −728.2 days
- Inclination
- 152.6°
- Satellite of
- Saturn
- Group
- Norse group
- Mean diameter
- 8 +50%, −30% km
- Synodic rotation period
- 11.10 ± 0.02 h
- Albedo
- 0.06 (assumed)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 8
- Mass
- 310
- Orbital period
- -728.2
- Image
- Skathi-discovery-CFHT.gif
Show 8 more facts
- provisional designation
- S/2000 S 8
- time of discovery or invention
- 2000-09-23
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 15641000
- Commons category
- Skathi (moon)
- name
- Saturn XXVII
- orbital inclination
- 152.6
- albedo
- 0.06
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.270
via Wikidata · CC0
~8 min read
Article
Skathi, also named Saturn XXVII and originally spelled Skadi, is a natural satellite of the planet Saturn. Skathi is one of Saturn's irregular moons, in its Norse group of satellites. It was discovered on September 23, 2000, by a team of astronomers led by Brett Gladman. The team announced their discovery on December 7, 2000, along with seven other satellites of Saturn, namely; Tarvos, Ijiraq, Thrymr, Siarnaq, Mundilfari, Erriapus, and Suttungr. The moon was named after Skaði, a figure in Norse mythology, as part of an effort to diversify the largely Greek and Roman names of astronomical objects.
Skathi takes just over 725 days to complete an orbit of Saturn and it is estimated to take 11.10±0.02 hours to rotate on its axis. It orbits at a greater distance from Saturn than many of the planet's other satellites, with a large orbital inclination and eccentricity, and it moves in a retrograde direction. Not much is known about Skathi, because it is a dim object. Other than Earth-based observations, it has only been observed by the Cassini probe, and even those measurements were taken at a distance of nearly 9.7 million kilometres (6 million miles).