(Earth is made of rocks and stuff.). 40 Interesting and Fun Facts About Saturn | Fact Toss Theyre made of chunks of ice and rock. [35] Saturn's rotation causes it to have the shape of an oblate spheroid; that is, it is flattened at the poles and bulges at its equator. Credits. Winds in the upper atmosphere can reach speeds of 500 metres a second, these combined with heat rising from within the planets interior cause yellow and gold bands. Saturns rings seem to disappear about every 14 years. Because of the crudeness of his telescope, he couldn't determine what the rings were. Saturn | NASA [134] In ancient Roman mythology, the planet Phainon was sacred to this agricultural god, from which the planet takes its modern name. Saturn: 6 essential facts about the second-largest planet in the solar Overview | Saturn - NASA Solar System Exploration Saturn could float in water because it is mostly made of gas. Four robotic spacecraft from Earth have visited SaturnPioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Cassini. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. The coldest temperature ever recorded on, Though Saturns rings werent discovered until the 1600s, some scholars theorize ancient cultures may have known about them. Surface features of various moons were seen for the first time. 1,000 Facts About Space by Dean Regas | Goodreads The CassiniHuygens space probe entered orbit around Saturn on 1 July 2004. As the droplets descend through the lower-density hydrogen, the process releases heat by friction and leaves Saturn's outer layers depleted of helium. Potential for Life Saturn's environment is not conducive to life as we know it. When viewed through even a small telescope, the planet encircled by its magnificent rings is arguably the most sublime object in the solar system. Credit: NASA, Image above: Saturn is the only planet that could float in water. One day on Saturn goes by in just 10.7 hours. Updated: April 23, 2021 As Saturn has a very low density, if you were able to put it into water, it would float! [63], The winds on Saturn are the second fastest among the Solar System's planets, after Neptune's. Saturns rings are divided into 7 groups, named alphabetically in the order of their discovery (Outwards from Saturn; D, C, B, A, F, G and E). 1. [115][116][117] A 2015 flyby by Cassini through a plume on Enceladus found most of the ingredients to sustain life forms that live by methanogenesis. Saturns atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen (96%) and helium (3%) with traces of other substances like methane, ammonia, acetylene, ethane, propane and phosphine. Saturn Facts - Interesting Facts about Planet Saturn - Space Facts If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. The wind speed in the atmosphere of Saturn can reach 1120 mph (1800 kph). [79], Saturn has an intrinsic magnetic field that has a simple, symmetric shapea magnetic dipole. Saturn, second largest planet of the solar system in mass and size and the sixth nearest planet in distance to the Sun. Earth Science, Astronomy. the Voyager spacecrafts (visiting in 1980-81) made discoveries about the composition and interaction The Cassini spacecraft took this picture of Saturn's rings. Year: About 29 Earth years. Here are some fun and interesting Saturn facts, including its size, its landscape, rings, temperature, and much more. This picture was made from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2013. Fascinating Facts About Saturn - The Old Farmer's Almanac on 14 October 2022 Sub-edited by Rhea Nischal ; Fact-checked by Sonali Rawat 8 mins to read Get Inspiration For Education! Since then, Earth-based telescopy has improved to the point where regular observations can be made. The Moon's orbit is inclined by several degrees relative to Saturn's, so occultations will only occur when Saturn is near one of the points in the sky where the two planes intersect (both the length of Saturn's year and the 18.6-Earth year nodal precession period of the Moon's orbit influence the periodicity).[174]. For other systems of numbering planets, see, Toggle Physical characteristics subsection, Toggle History of observation and exploration subsection, European observations (17th19th centuries), Refers to the level of 1 bar atmospheric pressure, Based on the volume within the level of 1 bar atmospheric pressure, Statistics of planets in the Solar System, "Enabling Exploration with Small Radioisotope Power Systems", "Azimuthal plasma flow in the Kronian magnetosphere", "HORIZONS Planet-center Batch call for November 2032 Perihelion", "Solar System Dynamics Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", "Saturn now leads moon race with 62 newly discovered moons", "NASA: Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Facts & Figures", "Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn", "On The Atmospheres Of Different Planets", "Saturn: Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere", "Astronomical Names for the Days of the Week", "Saturn The Most Beautiful Planet of our solar system", "A diffuse core in Saturn revealed by ring seismology", "Diamond Rain May Fill Skies of Jupiter and Saturn", "It rains solid diamonds on Uranus and Neptune", "Interiors of Giant Planets Inside and Outside the Solar System", "Cassini Discovers Saturn's Dynamic Clouds Run Deep", "Cassini Image Shows Saturn Draped in a String of Pearls", "New images show Saturn's weird hexagon cloud", "Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Atmospheric Dynamics in Saturn's South Pole from 1997 to 2002", "NASA Sees into the Eye of a Monster Storm on Saturn", "A Hurricane Over the South Pole of Saturn", "Hot Plasma Explosions Inflate Saturn's Magnetic Field", "Scientists Find That Saturn's Rotation Period is a Puzzle", "Saturn's gravitational field, internal rotation and interior structure", "Enceladus Geysers Mask the Length of Saturn's Day", "The Variable Rotation Period of the Inner Region of Saturn's Plasma Disc", "Saturn Trojans: a dynamical point of view", "Evidence for a Recent Collision in Saturn's Irregular Moon Population", "The Dust Halo of Saturn's Largest Icy Moon, Rhea", "Tenuous Oxygen Atmosphere Found Around Saturn's Moon Rhea", "Thin air: Oxygen atmosphere found on Saturn's moon Rhea", "Cassini reveals oxygen atmosphere of Saturns moon Rhea", "Cassini Finds Hydrocarbon Rains May Fill Titan Lakes", "Hydrocarbon lake finally confirmed on Titan", "Titan's Building Blocks Might Pre-date Saturn", "Saturn's moon Enceladus surprisingly comet-like", "Could There Be Life On Saturn's Moon Enceladus? The examination of Saturn's gravitational moment, in combination with physical models of the interior, has allowed constraints to be placed on the mass of Saturn's core. [118], In April 2014, NASA scientists reported the possible beginning of a new moon within the A Ring, which was imaged by Cassini on 15 April 2013.[119]. They have a mysterious reddish contaminant that might be rust or the same organic material found in red vegetables on, Though it was once thought that they formed around the time of the dinosaurs, information gathered from the. [95], Saturn has 146 known moons, 63 of which have formal names. Grades. Senior Research Scientist, Principal Scientist and Supervisor: Comets, Asteroids, and Satellites Group, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. [108] On 23 June 2014, NASA claimed to have strong evidence that nitrogen in the atmosphere of Titan came from materials in the Oort cloud, associated with comets, and not from the materials that formed Saturn in earlier times. If you know your browser is up to date, you should check to ensure that Here are some fun and interesting Saturn facts, including its size, its landscape, rings, temperature, and much more. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, creative tips and more Subscribe Who is not fascinated by Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system with majestic rings? The moon Titan orbits within the outer part of Saturn's magnetosphere and contributes plasma from the ionized particles in Titan's outer atmosphere. Saturn has a lovely set of seven main rings with spaces between them. All you need is a small telescope. For additional orbital and physical data, see the table. Polygonal shapes have been replicated in the laboratory through differential rotation of fluids. . Saturn's gravity was used to direct the spacecraft's trajectory towards Uranus.[156]. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second-largest planet in the solar system. In contrast, the F ring is about 20-300 miles (30-500 km.) A luminous river of stars, the Milky Way both inspires and awes. Its equatorial and polar radii differ by almost 10%: 60,268km versus 54,364km. . 25+ Fascinating Facts About Saturn You Should Know Saturn: History of Discoveries - NASA Babylonian astronomers systematically observed and recorded the movements of Saturn. All rights reserved. The time differences between the rotation periods of Saturns clouds and of its interior have been used to estimate wind velocities (see below The atmosphere). [161][162], Cassini photographs have revealed a previously undiscovered planetary ring, outside the brighter main rings of Saturn and inside the G and Erings. by Fact Toss. Mind-Blowing Facts About Saturn For The Future Astronauts [138][139][140], In ancient Hebrew, Saturn is called Shabbathai. Trojan asteroids have been discovered for Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. 4. However, direct measurement of the fields rotation was difficult because the field is highly symmetrical around the rotational axis. [98] Saturn's second-largest moon, Rhea, may have a tenuous ring system of its own,[99] along with a tenuous atmosphere. Best known for its fabulous ring system, Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in our solar system. What is it made of? [22] It takes approximately 29.5 years for the planet to complete an entire circuit of the ecliptic against the background constellations of the zodiac. If you traveled that distance from. [62] Previous Great White Spots were observed in 1876, 1903, 1933 and 1960, with the 1933 storm being the best observed. Other planets have rings. Have humans explored it? 5 - 12. Because of his numerous contributions ring system is not a uniform sheet but actually comprised of small particles. Some ice in the E ring comes from the moon Enceladus's geysers. That means Jupiter and Uranus are Saturns neighboring planets. Jupiter is the largest with a measurement of 142,984 km across its equator. [128], Some of the moons of Saturn, including Pandora and Prometheus, act as shepherd moons to confine the rings and prevent them from spreading out. Jupiter is the only planet that is bigger. [46][47][48], Saturn has a hot interior, reaching 11,700C at its core, and radiates 2.5 times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Click and drag to rotate the planet. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). across. At the time of the Voyager encounters, radio outbursts from Saturn, apparently related to small irregularities in the magnetic field, showed a period of 10 hours 39.4 minutes; this value was taken to be the magnetic field rotation period. Jupiter and Saturn. 2003. Saturn is the second-largest planet and the sixth planet from the Sun in the solar system with a measurement of 120, 536 km across its equator. Hypothetically, Saturn would float in an ocean large enough to hold it. The source of this ring is hypothesized to be the crashing of a meteoroid off Janus and Epimetheus. Its astronomical symbol () has been traced back to the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri, where it can be seen to be a Greek kappa-rho ligature with a horizontal stroke, as an abbreviation for (Cronus), the Greek name for the planet (). Only deep space probes can provide sidelit and backlit views. That's only about 250 miles per hour. Based on radio emissions from the planet detected by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2,[87] SystemIII has a rotation period of 10h 39m 22.4s (810.8/d). It consists of nine planets, namely Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto. A few years after Huygens' discoveries, an Italian-French astronomer by the name of Jean- In addition, there is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40500 meters in Saturn's rings,[97] which are not considered to be true moons. Up to 1,000 tons of diamonds arising from lightning strikes fall in Saturn's atmosphere each Earth year. *Time required for the planet to return to the same position in the sky relative to the Sun as seen from Earth. The irregularly shaped satellite Hyperion, which has a resonance with Titan, was discovered in 1848 by a British team. One year on Saturn is the same as 29 Earth years. . Solar System Local Interstellar Cloud Local Bubble Gould Belt Orion Arm Milky Way Milky Way subgroup Local Group Local Sheet Virgo Supercluster Laniakea Supercluster KBC Void Observable universe UniverseEach arrow () may be read as "within" or "part of". Facts About Saturn The Solar System History in Numbers Credit: NASA, Image above: The planet is named after Saturn. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in the solar system, Saturn is the only planet that is less dense than water. Measurements made 25 years later by the Cassini spacecraft indicated that the field was rotating with a period 67 minutes longer. [6][86] The visible features on Saturn rotate at different rates depending on latitude, and multiple rotation periods have been assigned to various regions (as in Jupiter's case). Subjects. ". [53] The proportion of helium is significantly deficient compared to the abundance of this element in the Sun. [170][171], Saturn is the most distant of the five planets easily visible to the naked eye from Earth, the other four being Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Saturn spins on its axis very fast. Saturn reclaims 'moon king' title with 62 newfound satellites, bringing total to 145. Saturn's upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds. 12. In fact, Saturn rotates faster than any other planet except for, Many of Saturns moons are named after the Titans, the giant brothers and sisters of the. A Saturnian opposition occurs every yearapproximately every 378 daysand results in the planet appearing at its brightest. Two years later when he viewed Saturn 11. For the deity, see, "Sixth planet" redirects here. [40] The quantity of elements heavier than helium (metallicity) is not known precisely, but the proportions are assumed to match the primordial abundances from the formation of the Solar System. At first he thought he was looking at three planets, or a planet with handles. [136], The Greek scientist Ptolemy based his calculations of Saturn's orbit on observations he made while it was in opposition. [39], Standard planetary models suggest that the interior of Saturn is similar to that of Jupiter, having a small rocky core surrounded by hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of various volatiles. Keeler showed that the Saturn Special: Ringing the Changes. New Scientist. Saturns equatorial escape velocitythe velocity needed for an object, which includes individual atoms and molecules, to escape the planets gravitational attraction at the equator without having to be further acceleratedis nearly 36 km per second (80,000 miles per hour) at the one-bar level, compared with 11.2 km per second (25,000 miles per hour) for Earth. Saturn is often the third brightest planet in the night sky and has a yellowish color that does not twinkle. [64] In images from the Cassini spacecraft during 2007, Saturn's northern hemisphere displayed a bright blue hue, similar to Uranus. Just for comparison, water is 1 g/cm 3 and the Earth is 5.52. Saturn has been known since prehistoric times because it is easily visible to the naked eye. The Italian astronomer Galileo in 1610 was the first to observe Saturn with a telescope. It has a lot of helium. The outermost layer spans 1,000km and consists of gas. Credit: NASA, Follow this link to skip to the main content. [55][56][57] The upper clouds are composed of ammonia crystals, while the lower level clouds appear to consist of either ammonium hydrosulfide (.mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su{display:inline-block;font-size:80%;line-height:1;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output .template-chem2-su>span{display:block;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output sub.template-chem2-sub{font-size:80%;vertical-align:-0.35em}.mw-parser-output sup.template-chem2-sup{font-size:80%;vertical-align:0.65em}NH4SH) or water. [92][93][94], An apparent oddity for Saturn is that it does not have any known trojan asteroids. A year on Saturn is more than 29 Earth years. Images were taken of the planet and a few of its moons, although their resolution was too low to discern surface detail. Storms larger than planets, moons with under-surface oceans, lakes of methane, worldlets that swap placesand that's just at Saturn. Saturn has a total of eight major rings, three main rings, and five dusty rings. SystemI has a period of 10h 14m 00s (844.3/d) and encompasses the Equatorial Zone, the South Equatorial Belt, and the North Equatorial Belt. It is also the fifth brightest object in the solar system. The second phase began in the 17th century, with telescopic observations from Earth, which improved over time. [78], The south pole storm may have been present for billions of years. reason, the probe exploring Titan is named after him. Saturn Has Had Four Visitors Since We Started Launching Probes. 2Elkins-Tanton, Linda. Saturn has more than 50 confirmed moons, and each varies in size and terrain. 36 Important Facts About Saturn - The Fact File Yes, the Sun looks smaller from there. The rings are huge but thin.
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