Saturn
Introduction
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and after Jupiter, the largest. The name
Saturn comes from Roman mythology in which Saturn was the God of Agriculture.
Saturn’s rings were thought to be quite unique until some faint rings were
discovered around the other gas giants. Saturn has 34 named moons.
^^Back
to top^^
Fact File
Orbit: 1,429,400,000 km from Sun
Diameter: 120,536 km
Mass: 5.6826 kg
^^Back
to top^^
Saturn's Workings Exterior
When you look at Saturn through a telescope, it looks flattened. This is because
of the planet’s fast rotation and fluid state. The other gas planets are also
flat looking but not as much. Saturn is not very dense at all, in fact it is the
least dense of all the planets and is quite fluid. Saturn is mostly made up of
hydrogen and helium with some traces of water, methane,and ammonia.
^^Back
to top^^
The Rings of Saturn
The bands on Saturn are quite faint and quite wide near the equator. Saturn
displays peculiar oavls of red and at some pint, the spacecraft HST discovered a
huge white cloud that had not been uncovered by the Voyager expeditions. And
though the rings look continuous from Earth, they are actually made up of
smaller particles, each in an independent orbit. They vary in size—some can be a
kilometer wide and others, a centimeter. The rings are very thin as well and are
composed of mainly ice but they may have rocky particles with icy coats.
^^Back
to top^^
Origin
The origin of these rings is unknown. Maybe they have had these rings since
formation yet their ring systems are unstable and have to keep being
regenerated. The current rings might only be a million or so years old. When it
is in the nighttime sky, Saturn is easily visible to the unaided eye. Though it
is not nearly as bright as Jupiter, it is easy to identify as a planet because
it doesn't "twinkle" like the stars do.
^^Back
to top^^
Saturn's F-ring
Saturn's outermost ring, the F-ring, is a complex structure made up of several
smaller rings along which "knots" are visible. It’s a theory that the knots
might be small clumos of material or even tiny moons. The strange braided
appearance visible in the Voyager 1 images is not seen in the Voyager 2 images
but they are seen in the Cassini images where there are also some wipy type
structures.
Moons
Titan:
Like in Greek mythology where the Titans were giants, Titan is the largest moon
of Saturn. Titan’s surface is very much like most of the other moons of the
outer planets. It is mostly made of ice and a little rock. Of all the moons in
the solar system, Titan has the largest and thickest atmosphere. Titan’s
atmosphere is like that of Earth’s, made mostly of nitrogen. It also contains
some other gases. Titan also has a thick layer of smog just like those over
large cities, which must be produced by some chemical reactions going on on its
surface.
Fact File
Distance from the Saturn: 1,221,830 km
Diameter: 5150 km
Mass: 1.3523 kg
Enceladus:
Enceladus is a very interesting moon of Saturn. It is the only body in the whole
solar system with such a smooth surface. It is covered with a layer of smooth,
clean ice. There are many smooth plains. The surface looks very young, as if it
was created not that long ago. This tells us that there there is some activity
going on, on the surface of Enceladus.
Fact File
Distance form Saturn: 238,020 km
Diameter: 498 km
Mass: 7.3019 kg
^^Back
to top^^
Dione:
Dione is a very important Greek mythological figure as it is the mother of Venus
(Aphrodite). Most of the surface of Dione is covered in streaks, that look like
lava has flowed and then hardened. But since the moon is mainly made up of ice,
it is hard to tell whether there would have ever been volcanoes on the moon.
Dione also is a very dense moon which means that there is a lot of material
packed into a very tiny space. It is the densest moon of Saturn, though it is
made almost fully out of ice, but scientists now believe that it has also got
other material.
Fact File
Distance from Saturn: 377,400 km
Diameter: 1120 km
Mass: 1.0521 kg
^^Back
to top^^
Tethys:
Like many other moons of Saturn and the Outer Planets, Tethys is made almost
fully out of ice. An enormous crater which is 400 km in diameter lies on the
western side of Tethys. This crater is so huge that it is almost half the size
of the moon itself. A surprising thing about this crater is that it didn’t
shatter the moon into pieces. This suggests that the moon must have been liquid
or semi-solid at that time. Another important landmark, called the Ithaca Chasma,
on the surface of Tethys is a huge valley that is about 3 km wide and 100 km
deep. It is 2000 km long which is almost the whole length of Tethys.
Fact File
Distance from Saturn: 294,660 km
Diameter: 1060 km
Mass: 6.2220 kg
^^Back
to top^^
Did You Know?
1. Saturn is the farthest planet you can see without a telescope.
2. Saturn would float if you put it in water!
3. Saturn's winds flow easterly and westerly at the same time.
4. To find your weight on Saturn, simply multiply your weight by 1.02.
^^Back
to top^^
