Kari or Saturn XLV is a natural satellite of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden on 26 June 2006 from observations taken between January and April 2006.

Kari
Kari imaged by the Cassini spacecraft in May 2017
Discovery
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard
David C. Jewitt
Jan T. Kleyna
Brian G. Marsden
Discovery date2006
Designations
Designation
Saturn XLV
PronunciationIcelandic: [ˈkʰauːrɪ]
Named after
Kári
S/2006 S 2
Orbital characteristics[1]
22118000 km
Eccentricity0.478
−1233.6 days
Inclination156.3°
Satellite ofSaturn
GroupNorse group
Physical characteristics[2][3]
6+50%
−30%
 km
7.70±0.14 h
Albedo0.06 (assumed)
Spectral type
g – r = 0.31 ± 0.07, r – i = 0.53 ± 0.09[4]
23.9
14.8

Kari is about 6 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 22,305,100 km in 1243.71 days, at an inclination of 148.4° to the ecliptic (151.5° to Saturn's equator), in a retrograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.3405. The rotation period has been determined to be 7.7±0.14 hours.[2] The light curve is similar to Hyrrokkin's, having two deep and one shallow minima, and the moon is probably triangular in shape.[3]

It was named in April 2007 after Kári, son of Fornjót, the personification of wind in Norse mythology.

References

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  1. ^ S.S. Sheppard (2019), Moons of Saturn, Carnegie Science, on line
  2. ^ a b Denk, T.; Mottola, S. (2019). Cassini Observations of Saturn's Irregular Moons (PDF). 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  3. ^ a b Denk, Tilmann; Mottola, Stefano; Tosi, Frederico; Bottke, William F.; Hamilton, Douglas P. (2018). "The Irregular Satellites of Saturn" (PDF). In Schenk, P.M.; Clark, R.N.; Howett, C.J.A.; Verbiscer, A.J.; Waite, J.H. (eds.). Enceladus and the Icy Moons of Saturn. Space Science Series. Vol. 322. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press. pp. 409–434. Bibcode:2018eims.book..409D. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816537075-ch020. ISBN 9780816537075.
  4. ^ Peña, José; Fuentes, Cesar (2022-05-17). "Colors of Irregular Satellites of Saturn with the Dark Energy Camera". The Astronomical Journal. 163 (6): 274. arXiv:2204.08391. Bibcode:2022AJ....163..274P. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ac6258. ISSN 1538-3881.
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