Hyrrokkin (moon) facts for kids

Hyrrokkin, also known as Saturn XLIV, is one of the many moons orbiting the giant planet Saturn. It was first spotted by a team of astronomers led by Scott S. Sheppard. They announced its discovery on June 26, 2006. The observations that helped them find Hyrrokkin were made between December 2004 and April 2006.

Discovering Hyrrokkin

Astronomers Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden were the scientists who found Hyrrokkin. They used powerful telescopes to look at Saturn and its surroundings. Their careful work helped them spot this small moon, which was then given the temporary name S/2004 S 19.

Hyrrokkin's Features

Hyrrokkin is a small moon, only about 8 kilometres (about 5 miles) wide. It travels around Saturn at a very long distance, averaging about 18,168,300 kilometres (over 11 million miles). One full trip around Saturn takes Hyrrokkin about 914 days, which is more than two Earth years!

Hyrrokkin's path around Saturn is not a perfect circle. It has an eccentricity of 0.3604, meaning its orbit is quite stretched out, like a flattened oval. Its orbit is also tilted at an angle of about 153.3 degrees compared to the ecliptic (the plane where Earth and most planets orbit the Sun). This makes it an "irregular" moon, as it doesn't follow the same flat path as Saturn's main moons.

How Hyrrokkin Got Its Name

In April 2007, this moon was officially named Hyrrokkin. The name comes from Norse mythology. Hyrrokkin was a giantess, a powerful female giant, who played a part in the funeral of the god Baldur. She was known for launching Baldur's funeral ship, called Hringhorni. The name was first spelled Hyrokkin, but it was later corrected to Hyrrokkin.

See also

• Hyrrokkin (satélite) para niños (in Spanish)