NBA Republic
Skathi moon is one of the irregular shaped moon of the planet Saturn. The announcement of the moon’s discovery was made on Thursday, December 7, 2000, after it was discovered on Saturday, September 23, 2000.
The Skathi moon was discovered together with seven other moons of the Saturn planet. These moons are; Tarvos, Ijiraq, Thrymr, Siarnaq, Mundilfari, Erriapus, and Suttungr. All these moons are members of the Norse group of Saturn moons.
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Brett J. Gladman, a Canadian Astronomer, was the lead researcher of the team of eight seasoned Astronomers who embarked on the journey to discover the moons at Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii, United States.
The Skathi moon research team include; John J. Kavelaars, Jean-Marc Petit, Hans Scholl, Matthew J. Holman, Brian G. Marsden, Phillip D. Nicholson, and Joseph A. Burns.
According to NASA, the Skathi moon, which is 15.6 million kilometers away from planet Saturn; takes 728 earth days to complete one orbit.
The moon also has a mass which is estimated at being 314,720,370,950,411 kilogram. Its density has been calculated at being 2.3, while its estimated volume is said to be 268.
Furthermore, astronomers indicate that the angle at which the Skathi moon orbits the Saturn planet in relation to the orbital plane, is 148.5 degrees. The orbital eccentricity which is the degree at which moon orbits close to a circular (0) orbit as opposed to an elliptical (1) orbit.
Meanwhile, experts say there could be more moons of the Saturn and other planets that are yet to be discovered.
In fact, the discovery of the Skathi moon is justification that more moons are there to be discovered, if only there are sustained efforts by Astronomers to discover more.
Source: NBA Republic