Quick facts
Parent planet
Diameter (mean)
40 km
Mass
3.9 × 10¹⁶ kg
5.3e-07 Moon masses
Mean orbital radius
18,016,000 km
Orbital period
895.5 Earth days
Discovery year
2000
Discoverer
Brett J. Gladman et al.
Naming origin
Inuit goddess of food and the sea
Surface conditions
Siarnaq is the largest of Saturn's Inuit-group prograde outer irregular moons, orbiting at 18 million km. Saturn's outer irregulars are grouped by their orbital characteristics and named by the IAU after deities from different mythological traditions: Norse, Inuit, and Gallic. The Inuit group shares orbital inclinations near 46°.
Missions and observations
Every Saturn-system mission has had an opportunity to image or characterize Siarnaq. The list below is the Saturn-system mission catalog; specific Siarnaq encounters are documented in mission archives.
| Mission | Year at Saturn | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Pioneer 11 NASA |
1979 | Completed |
|
Voyager 1 NASA |
1980 | Completed |
|
Voyager 2 NASA |
1981 | Completed |
|
Cassini-Huygens NASA/ESA/ASI |
2004 | Completed |
|
Dragonfly NASA |
2034 | On the way |
Naming etymology
Siarnaq is a goddess of food and the sea in Inuit mythology. The IAU adopted the name in 2003 — the first non-Greek/Roman name applied to a Saturnian moon, breaking the Titan-family pattern for the outer irregulars.
Methodology & sources
Diameter, mass, and orbital parameters from JPL Solar System Dynamics — Physical Parameters. Discovery year and discoverer from the JPL Satellite Discovery Circumstances. Naming etymology from the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. Stylized SVG hero composed from NASA / JPL imagery as visual reference; no photographs are reproduced.