Paaliaq

Paaliaq is a natural object that orbits the planet Saturn. It was found by a group of scientists in early October 2000 and was given a temporary name, S/2000 S 2, at that time. Later, in August 2003, it was officially named Paaliaq after a character from a book called The Curse of the Shaman by Michael Kusugak. Michael Kusugak helped by suggesting names from Inuit mythology for other moons of Saturn as well.

Physical characteristics

Paaliaq is thought to be about 29 kilometres in diameter, and it orbits Saturn at an average distance of 15.0 million km in 687 days. It belongs to the Inuit group of irregular satellites.

It has a light red color, and in the infrared its appearance is very similar to the Inuit-group satellites Kiviuq and Siarnaq. This supports the idea that the Inuit group may have come from a larger body that broke apart. Its light curve shows an unusual pattern, suggesting that it has a very unusual shape.