Bestla (moon)

Bestla or Saturn XXXIX (provisional designation S/2004 S 18) is a moon of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden on May 4, 2005, from observations taken between December 13, 2004, and March 5, 2005.

Bestla is about 7 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 19,959,000 km in 1052.722 days, at an inclination of 147° to the ecliptic (151° to Saturn's equator), with an eccentricity of 0.772. This moon has the most eccentric orbit of any moon in the solar system.

It was named in April 2007 after Bestla, a frost giantess (female giant) from Norse mythology, mother of Odin.

References

• Institute for Astronomy Saturn Satellite Data
• Jewitt's New Satellites of Saturn page
• IAUC 8523: New Satellites of Saturn May 4, 2005 (discovery)
• MPEC 2005-J13: Twelve New Satellites of Saturn May 3, 2005 (discovery and ephemeris)
• IAUC 8826: Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn (subscription-only) 2007 April 5 (naming the moon)