Kiviuq (moon)

Kiviuq is a prograde irregular satellite of Saturn. It was discovered by J. J. Kavelaars et al. in 2000, and given the temporary designation S/2000 S 5. It was named after Kiviuq, a hero of Inuit mythology.

Kiviuq is about 17 km in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 11.3 million kilometers in 449 days. It is a member of the Inuit group of irregular satellites. It is light red, and the Kiviupian (Kiviuqan) infrared spectrum is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Siarnaq and Paaliaq, supporting the thesis of a possible common origin of the Inuit group in the break-up of a larger body.

Kiviuq is believed to be in Kozai resonance, cyclically reducing its orbital inclination while increasing the eccentricity and vice versa. Its current orbital elements overlap strongly with Phoebe's orbit, and the moons will likely eventually collide with each other.

The light curve amplitude of Kiviuq is large, varying in brightness by over 2 magnitudes. The large amplitude of Kiviuq suggests that it has an elongated shape, and may be a possible contact binary.

Exploration
On 30 August 2010, the ISS camera of the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft took light-curve data from a distance of 9.3 million km. With these data, the rotation period was measured to 21 hours and 49 minutes.