Introduction

Usually it’s true that planets are bigger then moons, but in the case of one of Saturn’s moons it’s not! Saturn has 18 moons. Titan (one of Saturn’s moons) is so big that it is slightly bigger then Mercury! Since Titan doesn’t orbit the Sun by itself, but goes around Saturn, it is a moon not a planet. Titan is the only one of Saturn’s moons that has an atmosphere. It is mainly made out of nitrogen and does not have enough oxygen for people to breathe, so we couldn’t live on Titan.

Saturn

 Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System-only Jupiter is larger. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun, and it has several thin flat rings around it. Saturn’s rings are made out of ice particles that float around the planet. Jupiter and Uranus are the only other planets known to have rings. Their rings are much fainter then those around Saturn. The rings of Saturn surround the planet at its equator. The rings do not touch Saturn. As Saturn orbits the Sun, its rings always tilt at the same angle as the equator.

Galileo's Discovery

Saturn’s rings were discovered by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei in 1665. Galileo couldn’t see Saturn’s rings clearly with his small telescope, and thought they were moons. The planets outside Saturn’s orbit, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered using more modern telescopes, beginning with the discovery of Uranus by William Herschel in 1781. The discovery of each of these outermost planets generated great public interest at the time and made the discoverers famous.

Cassini Spacecraft

To learn more about Saturn’s moons and rings, 4 years ago the Cassini spacecraft was built by NASA and The European Space Agency. The spacecraft has this name in honor of Jean Dominique Cassini who studied Saturn’s rings long ago. Cassini’s size is like a 30 passenger school bus and weighs 6 tons. It will be full of scientific instruments and cameras. The Cassini has also carried a space probe into space. The robot probe is named Hygyens after another astronomer who studied Saturn long ago, and who also invented the world’s most accurate time piece (at that time, ) the pendulum clock. People do not ride on the Cassini Spacecraft, the robot probe Hygyens has taken pictures of Saturn and sent them back to earth by radio waves. Cassini’s high-gain antenna will be turned away from Titan and towards the Earth, so it will be easier to send radio waves to Earth. 

Saturn's Winds

The winds blow at high speeds on Saturn. Near the equator the winds may reach velocities of 500 meters a second ( 1,000, miles per hour). Saturn’s atmosphere is mainly made out of hydrogen and helium, the same gasses which the sun and most stars are made of. Although these gases aren’t poisonous to humans, they don’t provide the oxygen we need to live on.

Saturn's Cloud Layers

Saturn is the only planet less dense than water (30% less dense). The planet Saturn has water only in gas or vapor forms, like clouds. Saturn actually has three layers of clouds. The bottom-most layer and hardest layer to see is made of water. Saturn doesn’t have any solid surface or any oceans. All of Saturn’s moons and most ring particles are made of frozen water or ice in many different rock materials.

Lots of people wonder, " Is there any life on Saturn or any of its moons?" The answer to that question is no. Saturn is 10 times as cold as Earth. Low temperatures, combined with a high radiation environment at Saturn make it highly unlikely that life exists anywhere in Saturn’s atmosphere or on the surface of any of Saturn’s moons.