Erriapus (moon) facts for kids
Erriapus is a small moon that goes around the planet Saturn. It's also known as Saturn XXVIII. Unlike Earth's Moon, Erriapus is not perfectly round. It has an irregular, non-spherical shape.
Discovery and Naming
Scientists found Erriapus in the year 2000. A team of astronomers, including Brett Gladman and John J. Kavelaars, made this discovery. When they first found it, they gave it a temporary name: S/2000 S 10.
Later, in August 2003, the moon received its official name, Erriapus. It was named after a giant from Celtic mythology. This mythology comes from ancient Gaul, a region in Europe. The spelling of the name was later changed slightly to Erriapus.
Size and Journey Around Saturn
Erriapus is quite small, measuring about 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) across. To give you an idea, that's roughly the size of a small town.
This moon travels very far from Saturn. Its average distance is about 17,300,000 kilometers (about 10.7 million miles). It takes Erriapus a long time to complete one trip around Saturn. One orbit lasts about 871 Earth days, which is more than two years!
Part of the Gallic Group
Erriapus is a member of a special family of moons called the Gallic group. All the moons in this group are not round. They also share similar paths around Saturn.
Another interesting thing about the Gallic group moons is their color. They all have a similar light-red tint. Scientists believe that Erriapus and the other moons in this group might have formed in the same way. They think a much larger space rock broke apart a long time ago. The pieces then became the moons we see today in the Gallic group.
