Fornjot (moon)

Fornjot (pronEng|ˈfɔrnjɒt "FOR-nyot)," or Saturn XLII (provisional designation S/2004 S 8) is a natural satellite of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden on May 4, 2005, from observations taken between December 12, 2004, and March 11, 2005.

It is about 6 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 24,505 Mm in 1432 d at an inclination of 168° to the ecliptic (152° to Saturn's equator) in a retrograde direction) and with an eccentricity of 0.186. It is the most distant known satellite of Saturn.

It was named in April 2007, after Fornjót, a storm giant from Norse mythology, father of Ægir, Kári, and Loge.

References

* [http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~sheppard/satellites/satsatdata.html Institute for Astronomy Saturn Satellite Data]
* [http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~jewitt/saturn2005.html Jewitt's New Satellites of Saturn page]
* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/08500/08523.html IAUC 8523: "New Satellites of Saturn"] May 4 2005 (discovery)
* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/mpec/K05/K05J13.html MPEC 2005-J13: "Twelve New Satellites of Saturn"] May 3 2005 (discovery and ephemeris)
* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/08800/08826.html IAUC 8826: "Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn"] (subscription-only) 2007 April 5 (Naming the moon)

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