Fornjot (moon)

Fornjot or Saturn XLII (provisional designation S/2004 S 8) is a moon 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 24,505,000 km in 1432 days at an inclination of 168° to the ecliptic (152° to Saturn's equator) with an eccentricity of 0.186. It is the farthest moon from Saturn.

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

References

• Institute for Astronomy Saturn Satellite Data
• Jewitt's New Satellites of Saturn page
• IAUC 8523: New Satellites of Saturn May 4 2005 (discovery)
• MPEC 2005-J13: Twelve New Satellites of Saturn May 3, 2005 (discovery and ephemeris)
• IAUC 8826: Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn (subscription-only) 2007 April 5 (Naming the moon)