Tarvos , or Saturn XXI, is a prograde

irregular satellite In astronomy, an irregular moon, irregular satellite, or irregular natural satellite is a natural satellite following an orbit that is irregular in some of the following ways: Distant; inclined; highly elliptical; retrograde. They have often be ...

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

. 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 A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

depicted as a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

god carrying three cranes alongside its back from Gaulish mythology.

Orbit

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 0.06). It has a high

orbital eccentricity In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values be ...

of 0.53.SAT452 from It is a member of the Gallic group of irregular satellites.

Origin

With a similar orbit and displaying a similar light-red colour to Albiorix, Tarvos is thought to have its origin in the break-up of a common progenitor or to be a fragment of that body.

References

External links

* Ephemeri
IAU-MPC NSES
(by Scott S. Sheppard) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarvos (Moon) Gallic group Moons of Saturn Irregular satellites 20000923 Moons with a prograde orbit