Eggther (moon)

Eggther

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Sheppard et al.
Discovery date	2019
Designations
Named after	Eggþér
Alternative names	Saturn LIX S/2004 S 27 S8576a[2]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Semi-major axis	19776700 km
Eccentricity	0.120
Orbital period (sidereal)	−1033.0 days
Inclination	167.1°
Satellite of	Saturn
Group	Norse group
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	6+50% −30% km
Apparent magnitude	24.5

Eggther (Saturn LIX), provisionally known as S/2004 S 27, is a natural satellite of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, and Jan Kleyna on October 7, 2019 from observations taken between December 12, 2004 and March 21, 2007.^[3] It was given its permanent designation in August 2021.^[4] On 24 August 2022, it was officially named after Eggþér, a jötunn from Norse mythology.^[5] He is the herder of the female jötunn (probably Angrboða) who lives in Járnviðr (Ironwood) and raises monstrous wolves.^[6][7][8] In the poem Völuspá, Eggþér is described as sitting on a mound and joyfully striking his harp while the red rooster Fjalarr begins to crow to herald the onset of Ragnarök.^[7]

Eggther is about 6 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 19.976 Gm in 1054.45 days, at an inclination of 168° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.122.^[3]

References

1. Discovery Circumstances from JPL
2. S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Saturn, Carnegie Science, on line
3. "MPEC 2019-T134 : S/2004 S 27". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
4. "M.P.C. 133821" (PDF). Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
5. "Names Approved for 10 Small Satellites of Saturn". usgs.gov. USGS. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
6. Salus, Peter H.; Taylor, Paul B. (1969). "Eikinskjaldi, Fjalarr, And Eggþér: Notes on Dwarves and Giants in the Völuspá". Neophilologus. 53 (1): 76–81. doi:10.1007/BF01511692. ISSN 1572-8668. S2CID 162276325.
7. Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-304-34520-5.
8. Lindow, John (2002). Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-19-983969-8.