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Ymir (moon) facts for kids

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Ymir
Discovery
Discovered by Brett J. Gladman
Discovery site Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
Discovery date 2000
Designations
S/2000 S1
Adjectives Ymirian
Orbital characteristics
23,040,000 km
Eccentricity 0.3349
3.6 yr (1315.14 d)
244.521°
Inclination 173.125°
194.086°
22.668°
Satellite of Saturn
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 18 km
Mass 5.1×1015 kg
8.7 m/s (31 km/h)
Albedo 0.06
21.7

Ymir (pronounced IM-eer), also known as Saturn XIX, is one of the many moons that orbit the planet Saturn. Scientists found this moon in the year 2000. It was first called S/2000 S 1.

Ymir got its official name in August 2003. Its name comes from Norse mythology. In these old stories, Ymir is a giant who is the ancestor of all the frost giants.

Discovering Ymir: Saturn's Distant Moon

A team of astronomers led by Brett J. Gladman found Ymir in 2000. They used powerful telescopes to spot this small, faint object orbiting Saturn. Finding new moons helps us learn more about our solar system.

Ymir's Journey Around Saturn

Ymir is a small moon, only about 16 kilometers (10 miles) wide. It travels very far from Saturn. On average, it is about 23,175,000 kilometers (14.4 million miles) away.

It takes Ymir a long time to complete one trip around Saturn. This journey lasts about 1317 days, which is more than three and a half Earth years! Ymir's path around Saturn is also quite tilted. It orbits at an angle of 172 degrees compared to the ecliptic, which is the plane where most planets orbit the Sun.

Ymir's orbit is also not a perfect circle. It has an eccentricity of 0.358. This means its path is more like an oval, so its distance from Saturn changes as it orbits.


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See also

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