thumb|300px|right|Animation of Saturn's Inuit group of satellites<br />
thumb|300px|Diagram illustrating the orbits of the irregular satellites of Saturn, showing the three Inuit subgroups. The inclination and semi-major axis are represented on the Y and X-axis, respectively. The satellites with inclinations below 90° are [[prograde orbit|prograde, those above 90° are retrograde. The X-axis is labeled in terms of Saturn's Hill radius.]]
The Inuit group (or family or cluster; also referred to as the second inclination group or the 46° inclination cluster
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) uses names taken from Inuit mythology for these moons, though only five of them have names at present.
Characteristics
The group appeared quite homogeneous in early observations, the satellites displaying light-red colour (colour indices B−V = 0.79 and V−R = 0.51, similar to that of the Gallic group) and similar infrared spectra. Later observations, however, revealed that Ijiraq is distinctly redder than Paaliaq, Siarnaq and Kiviuq. In addition, unlike the other three, Ijiraq's spectrum does not display weak absorption near 0.7 μm. This feature is attributed to a possible water hydration.
The spectral homogeneity (with the exception of Ijiraq) is consistent with a common origin in the break-up of a single object but the dispersion of the orbital parameters requires further explanation. Secular resonances among the members could provide the explanation of the post-collisional dispersion.
The Inuit group members have semi-major axes range between 11 and 19 million km, their inclinations between 43° and 51°, and their eccentricities between 0.08 and 0.39. They take an average of 2 years to orbit Saturn. There are 39 moons total, of which 23 reside in the Kiviuq subgroup and 15 in the Siarnaq subgroup. The Kiviuq subgroup is a confirmed collisional family and their semi-major axes are lower and range between 11 million km and 13 million km, inclinations between 44° and 51°, and have higher eccentricities between 0.25 and 0.39. The Siarnaq subgroup has 15 members and have higher semi-major axes between 17 million km and 19 million km, inclinations between 43° and 49°, and eccentricities between 0.08 and 0.31. Paaliaq is by itself and orbits at a distance in between the two other subgroups.
List
The 39 known members of the Inuit group are (sorted by date announcement):
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Name || Diameter (Km) || Semi-Major Axis (Km) || Period (days) || Subgroup
|-id=Paaliaq <!-- S/2000 S 2 --> bgcolor=#fbb
|Paaliaq || 30 || || 686.94 || Paaliaq
|-id=Siarnaq <!-- S/2000 S 3 --> bgcolor=#bbf
|Siarnaq || 39.3 || || 895.58 || Siarnaq
|-id=Kiviuq <!-- S/2000 S 5 --> bgcolor=#bfb
|Kiviuq || 19 || || 449.13 || Kiviuq
|-id=Ijiraq <!-- S/2000 S 6 --> bgcolor=#bfb
|Ijiraq || 15 || || 451.43 || Kiviuq
|-id=Tarqeq <!-- S/2007 S 1 --> bgcolor=#bbf
|Tarqeq || 7 || || 884.99 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2004_S_31 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2004 S 31 || 5 || || 866.09 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2019_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 1 || 5 || || 445.51 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 1 || 4 || || 451.10 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_3 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2020 S 3 || 3 || || 908.19 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2020_S_5 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2020 S 5 || 3 || || 933.89 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2019_S_6 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2019 S 6 || 4 || || 919.71 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2005_S_4 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2005 S 4 || 5 || || 450.22 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_14 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2019 S 14 || 4 || || 893.14 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2004_S_54 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2004 S 54 || 4 || || 447.14 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2004_S_55 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2004 S 55 || 3 || || 448.16 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2004_S_58 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2004 S 58 || 5 || || 920.80 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2005_S_6 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2005 S 6 || 4 || || 909.58 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2006_S_23 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2006 S 23 || 3 || || 921.86 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2007_S_10 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2007 S 10 || 4 || || 452.36 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_22 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 22 || 3 || || 448.48 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_23 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 23 || 3 || || 449.08 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_24 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 24 || 4 || || 452.07 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_25 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 25 || 4 || || 450.22 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_26 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2019 S 26 || 3 || || 453.89 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2019_S_32 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2019 S 32 || 5 || || 898.71 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2020_S_11 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 11 || 3 || || 448.21 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_12 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 12 || 3 || || 449.33 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_13 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 13 || 3 || || 455.39 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_19 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2020 S 19 || 3 || || 881.04 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2023_S_1 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2023 S 1 || 3 || || 442.86 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2023_S_2 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2023 S 2 || 3 || || 449.05 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2023_S_3 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2023 S 3 || 3 || || 875.00 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2023_S_6 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2023 S 6 || 3 || || 487.91 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2023_S_7 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2023 S 7 || 4 || || 499.01 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2023_S_19 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2023 S 19 || 3 || || 870.92 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2023_S_22 bgcolor=#bbf
|S/2023 S 22 || 4 || || 945.37 || Siarnaq
|-id=S/2020_S_48 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 48 || 3 || || 451.75 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2023_S_56 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2023 S 56 || 3 || || 447.75 || Kiviuq
|-id=S/2020_S_49 bgcolor=#bfb
|S/2020 S 49 || 2 || || 448.84 || Kiviuq
|}
See also
- List of natural satellites
References
External links
Mean orbital parameters: from JPL