Saturn: The Ringed Planet

Saturn is the second largest planet, behind Jupiter and it is the sixth farthest from the sun. It can be viewed from the earth with the naked eye. Around, there are seven thin, flat rings around it that make Saturn one of the most beautiful objects in the solar system. The only other planets with rings are Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus, but their rings are faint compared to Saturn's. Saturn was the farthest planet that ancient astronomers knew about and it was named after the Roman God of agriculture.

Here is some planetary data on Saturn:

• Diameter (miles)= 74,600
• Mass (trillion trillion lbs)= 1,253.8
• Density (earth=1)= .125
• Gravity (earth=1)= .93
• Period of Rotation (hours)= 10.2
• Escape Velocity (mph)= 79,639
• Major Atmospheric Gas= Hydrogen
• Inclination of Equator (degrees)= 26.7
• Known Moons= 18
• Mean Orbital Velocity (mph)= 21,565
• Minimum Distance From Sun= 837.6 (millions of miles)
• Maximum Distance From Sun= 936.2 (millions of miles)
• Mean Distance From Sun= 886.7 (millions of miles)
• Period of Revolution (earth years)= 29.46

Detailed Information on Saturn:

Surface and Atmosphere--

It is believed that Saturn does not have a solid surface and is instead a giant ball of gas. though is does seem that Saturn has a solid inner core or iron and rocky material. The outer core probably consists of ammonia, methane, and water. A dense layer of clouds covers Saturn. There are a series of belts and zones of varied colors on the cloud tops which is caused by differences in the temperature and altitude of atmospheric gas masses. It is doubted that any form of life exists on the planet Saturn.

Density and Mass--

Of all the planets in the solar system, Saturn has the lowest density. It is only about one-tenth the density of earth and two-thirds as dense of water. While Saturn may have a lower density than other planets it has a much higher mass than any other planet except Jupiter. It is about 95 times as massive as the earth. The force of gravity on Saturn is slightly greater than that of earth's and so a 100lb object on earth would weigh about 107lbs on Saturn.

Rings--

The rings of Saturn do not touch it but surround the planet at its equator. There are seven rings each consisting of thousands of narrow ringlets. These ringlets are made up of billions of particles of ice that range from the size of dust to chunks over ten feet wide. The outer ring may measure as much as 180,000 miles across, yet they are too think to be seen when in direct line with the earth. The gaps between rings is about 2,000 miles. Who discovered these rings? Galileo did in the early 1600's but thought they might be large satellites.

Satellites--

In addition to all its rings, Saturn has at least 18 moons. The largest is Titan having a diameter of 3,190 miles, greater than that of Mercury and Pluto. Many of Saturn's satellites have large craters. Mimas, a satellite of Saturn, has a crater that covers one-third its diameter. Lapetus, another satellite, has a bright and dark side, while Hyperion is shaped more like a cylinder than a sphere.

Flights to Saturn--

The U.S. launched a space probe in 1973 to study both Saturn and Jupiter. It was an unmanned craft, called the Pioneer-Saturn, and it returned up-close photographs of the planet that led to the discovery of two outer rings. It was also found that Saturn has a magnetic field 1000 times the strength of the earth's. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1977 by the U.S. and confirmed the existence of Saturn's seventh ring. They also helped discover 9 of Saturn's satellites.