Quick Facts Mythology Interior Rings F-ring

The Bringer of Old Age

Mythology:
In Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of agriculture. The associated Greek god, Cronus, was the son of Uranus and Gaia and the father of Zeus (Jupiter). Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday".

Interior:
Saturn's interior is similar to Jupiter's consisting of a rocky core, a liquid metallic hydrogen layer and a molecular hydrogen layer. Traces of various ices are also present. Saturn's interior is hot and Saturn radiates more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Most of the extra energy is generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism as in Jupiter.

Rings:
Two prominent rings (A and B) and one faint ring (C) can be seen from the Earth. The gap between the A and B rings is known as the Cassini division. The much fainter gap in the outer part of the A ring is known as the Encke Gap. The Voyager pictures show four additional faint rings. Saturn's rings, unlike the rings of the other planets, are very bright.
Though they look continuous from the Earth, the rings are actually composed of innumerable small particles each in an independent orbit. They range in size from a centimeter or so to several meters. A few kilometer sized objects are also likely. The ring particles seem to be composed primarily of water ice and some rocky particles.

F-ring:
Saturn's outermost ring, the F-ring, is a complex structure made up of several smaller rings along which "knots" are visible. Scientists speculate that the knots may be clumps of ring material, or mini satellites. The strange braided appearance visible in the Voyager 1 images is not seen in the Voyager 2 images perhaps because Voyager 2 imaged regions where the component rings are roughly parallel.