Bebhionn (moon)

Bebhionn, also known as Saturn XXXVII, is a small, irregular natural satellite of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Scott S. Sheppard, David C. Jewitt, Jan Kleyna, and Brian G. Marsden on 4 May 2005 from observations taken between 12 December 2004 and 9 March 2005.
Bebhionn is about 6 kilometres in diameter and orbits Saturn at an average distance of 16,898 Mm in 820.130 days at an inclination of 41° to the ecliptic and with an eccentricity of 0.469. The rotation period of Bebhionn was measured at hours by the ISS camera of the Cassini spacecraft. Bebhionn's light curve reflects an elongated shape with large variations in brightness, making it a leading candidate for a contact binary or binary moon.

Name

The moon was named in April 2007 after Béibhinn, an early Irish goddess of birth, who was renowned for her beauty. In Irish, Béibhinn/Béḃinn is pronounced or . The spelling "bh" indicates that the second consonant is softened to a "v" sound. The extra "o" in the unusual spelling Bebhionn suggests that the final "nn" should be broad, but is not itself pronounced. The name is still pronounced as a compound, so the unstressed vowel is not reduced to a schwa.