Planet Saturn
The Ringed Planet
saturn A spectacular image of Saturn captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2004

Close up of Saturn's rings
Close up of Saturn's rings Natural color image of Saturn's rings
Planet Saturn Facts
  • Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest in the solar system.
  • It is a giant ball of gas composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with no solid surface.
  • Saturn is around 10 times bigger than Earth with a diameter of 74,900 miles (120,540 km).
  • It orbits the sun at an average distance of 886 million miles (1.4 billion km).
  • Saturn has seven main seperate rings around it which are made from rock and ice particles.
  • Its main rings extend outwards for over 200,000 km, yet the thickness of the rings range from around only 5 to 15 metres.
  • It is believed Saturn's rings will eventually disperse or be drawn into the planet.
  • Winds in Saturn's upper atmosphere can reach over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) per hour.
  • Saturn has the lowest density of any planet in the solar system, so much so that it would float in water.
Orbit, Atmosphere & Temperature
saturn clouds Saturn's banded atmosphere

Orbit
Saturn takes almost 30 years to make one complete orbit of the sun and rotates on its own axis every 10 hours 39 minutes compared to 24 hours on Earth, only Jupiter rotates faster.

Atmosphere
Saturn's atmosphere is composed of 96.3% hydrogen and 3.25% helium. The remaining half percent is made up of trace elements of ammonia, acetylene, ethane, phosphine and methane.

Temperature
The temperature at the top of Saturn's clouds average around -175C (-285F). The temperature below the clouds gets considerably hotter. Saturn's core has a temperature of around 11,700C (21,000F).
Moons & Origin of Name
Life on Saturn
Saturn has many satellites 25 of which have a diameter of at least 6 miles (10 km), the most interesting of these are Titan and Enceladus. The Romans named the planet Saturnas after their god of agriculture.
Scientists doubt that any form of life could exist on Saturn.
The Rings of Saturn
Saturns Rings
The rings of Saturn are the most spectacular sight in the solar system and have fascinated astronomers for centuries. Science has not yet discovered how the rings formed but it is believed they are made up of debris from an asteroid or comet colliding with one of Saturn’s moons. They are mostly composed of ice with smaller amounts of dust and other particles which make up several separate rings.

The rings were named alphabetically in the order they were discovered and differ in thickness and width. Working outward from the planet the main innermost rings are D,C.B,A and F. The B ring is the biggest and brightest of the main rings with an estimated thickness of around 10 metres and a width of 16,000 miles (25,000 km). There are also fainter outer rings G and E and the most recently discovered Phoebe ring, which lies 8 million miles (15 million km) from the planet. This ring is thought to be comprised of debris from one of Saturn’s moons, Phoebe.

There are also gaps in the rings, the biggest of which is called the Cassini Division, named after the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini, the gap is almost 5 miles (8 km) wide. It was through one of these gaps that the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft had to navigate as it approached Saturn. Scientists at NASA held their breath but fortunately it managed to pass through the rings successfully and continue its mission.


Future and Past Missions to Saturn
Cassini-Huygens
cassini-huygens Launch: October 1997
Arrival: July 2004
Agency: NASA/ESA (Europe)
Cassini-Huygens is still in orbit around Saturn as part of its extended mission to study the planet and its moons. The craft sends back new images every day as well as studing the space environment of the Saturnian System.


Voyager 1 and 2
Voyager 2 Launch: August-September 1977
Arrival: August 1980-June 1981
Agency: NASA
Voyager 1 and 2 made successful flybys of Saturn discovering the intricate structure of the ring system as well as sending back new information about its atmosphere and magnetic field. Between them they took around 32,000 images of the planet.


Pioneer 11
Ganymede from Pioneer 10 Launch: April 1973
Arrival: September 1979
Agency: NASA
Made a successful flyby of Saturn studying its magnetic field, atmosphere and sending back pictures of the planet.





Planet Saturn - Vital Statistics
Comparison with Earth
Diameter: 74,900 miles (120,540 km)
Average Distance from Sun: 886 million miles (1.4 billion km)
Orbital Period: 29.4 years
Rotation Period: 10.66 hours

Maximium Temperatures: 11,700C (21,000F) (Core)
Minumum Temperatures: -178C (-288F) (Cloud Tops)

Gravity: 10.4 m/s2 (1.06 x Earth's Gravity)
Density: 0.7 g/cm3 (12.7% Earth's Density)
Mass: 5.6851 x 1026 kg (95 x Earth's Mass)
Volume: 8.2713 x 1014 km3 (764 x Earth's Volume)

Atmosphere: 96% Hydrogen, 3% Helium, 0.4% Methane, 0.01% Ammonia, 0.01% Hydrogen deuteride, 0.0007% Ethane.
Diameter: 7,926 miles (12,756 km)
Average Distance from Sun: 93 million miles (150 million km)
Orbital Period: 365.24 days
Rotation Period: 23.934 hours

Maximium Surface Temperatures: 58C (136F)
Minumum Surface Temperatures: -88C (-126F)

Gravity: 9.766 m/s2
Density: 5.515 g/cm3
Mass: 5.9737 x 1024 kg
Volume: 1.0832 x 1012 km3

Atmosphere: 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide.

Planet Saturn - Images and Video
Moons orbiting Saturn
Moons orbiting Saturn
Saturn Rotation
Telescopic view of Saturn
Telescopic view of Saturn
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