Tarvos (moon)

Irregular satellite
ref_discovery=Discovery Circumstances [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_discovery (JPL)] ]
name=Tarvos - Saturn XXI
discoverer=B. J. Gladman, J. J. Kavelaars, R. L. Allen, T. Rigg , C. W. Hergenrother, S. M. Larson, A. Doressoundiram and J. Romon [ [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/07500/07513.html IAUC 7513: "S/2000 S 3 and S/2000 S 4"] 2000 October 25 (discovery)] [ [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/mpec/K00/K00Y14.html MPEC 2000-Y14: "S/2000 S 3, S/2000 S 4, S/2000 S 5, S/2000 S 6, S/2000 S 10"] 2000 December 19 (discovery and ephemeris)]
discovery_date=September 23 2000
epoch=2000 Feb. 26.00
ref_orb_elems=cite web
date=2007-Jun-28
title=Planetary Satellite Mean Orbital Parameters
publisher=JPL/NASA
author=Jacobson, R.A. (2007) SAT270, SAT271
url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_elem#saturn
accessdate=2008-01-19]
semimajor=17.983
eccentricity=0.5305
inclination=33.825
period=926.2 d (2.63 yr)
diameter=15 kmcite web
title=Saturn's Known Satellites
publisher=Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
author=Scott Sheppard
url=http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/sheppard/satellites/satsatdata.html
accessdate=2007-03-06]
albedo=0.04 "assumed"
color="light red" B-V=0.0.77 R-V=0.57Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J.; Gladman, Brett J.; Aksnes, Kaare; [http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0301016 "Photometric survey of the irregular satellites"] , Icarus, 166 (2003), pp. 33-45]

Tarvos (pronEng|ˈtɑrvəs "TAR-vəs" or pronEng|ˈtɑrvɒs "TAR-vos)" or Saturn XXI is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by John J. Kavelaars, et al. on September 23 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 4. The name, given in August 2003, is after Tarvos, a deity depicted as a bull god carrying three cranes alongside its back from Gaulish mythology. [ [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/08100/08177.html IAUC 8177: "Satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus"] 2003 August 8 (naming the moon)]

Tarvos orbits Saturn at an average distance of 18 million km in 926 days and is about 15 km in diameter (assuming an albedo of 0.04). It has the most eccentric orbit around Saturn.

It is a member of the Gallic group of irregular satellites.

Sharing similar orbit and displaying similar "light-red" colour, Tarvos is thought to have its origin in a break-up of a common progenitor Gladman, B. J.; Nicholson, P. D.; Burns, J. A.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Marsden, B. G.; Holman, M. J.; Grav, T.; Hergenrother, C. W.; Petit, J.-M.; Jacobson, R. A.; and Gray, W. J.; [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v412/n6843/abs/412163a0.html "Discovery of 12 satellites of Saturn exhibiting orbital clustering"] , Nature, 412 (2001 July 12), pp. 163–166] or to be a fragment of Albiorix.Grav, Tommy; and Bauer, J.; [http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611590 "A deeper look at the colors of Saturnian irregular satellites"] ]

References

*Ephemeris [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/NatSats/NaturalSatellites.html IAU-MPC NSES]

External links

* [http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~jewitt/irregulars.html David Jewitt pages]