S/2004 S 17 facts for kids

S/2004 S 17 is a small, unnamed moon that orbits the planet Saturn. It was discovered by a team of astronomers: Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden. They announced its discovery on May 4, 2005, after observing it between December 13, 2004, and March 5, 2005.

About S/2004 S 17

This tiny moon is only about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) wide. That's roughly the size of a small town! It travels around Saturn very far away, at an average distance of about 19,099,000 kilometers (about 11.8 million miles).

Orbit Around Saturn

S/2004 S 17 takes a long time to complete one trip around Saturn. It takes about 985.453 days, which is more than two and a half Earth years! Its orbit is also quite tilted. This tilt, called its inclination, is about 167 degrees compared to the ecliptic (the path the Sun seems to take across the sky). It's also tilted about 162 degrees compared to Saturn's equator.

The moon's orbit is not a perfect circle; it's a bit stretched out, like an oval. Scientists call this "stretched out" shape its eccentricity, which for S/2004 S 17 is 0.226. This means its distance from Saturn changes as it moves along its path.