Saturn
Nicknamed the jewel of the solar system, everyone likes Saturn because of its dazzling rings. Ammonia covers the deeper red clouds of this planet, making it appear pale gold, with light blue poles, where less sunlight is present. With its unique rings and outbreaks of storms at times, Saturn is comparable to a teenager!
Saturn Stats
Average Distance from Sun: 1433.53 million km
Perihelion: 1352.55 million km Aphelion: 1514.50 million km Mass: 95.16 times Earth Equatorial Diameter: 120 536 km Polar Diameter: 108 728 km Volume: 763.59 times Earth Gravity: 1.065 times Earth (10.44 N/kg) Temperature: -133 C to -189 C Rotation: 10.656 hours Revolution: 10 746.94 Earth days Moons: 62+ (53 >10 km across) Rings: 7 groups Type: Jovian planet Namesake: Saturn was the Roman lord of time. His Greek form is Kronos (Cronus). |
Saturn Facts
- SATURN IS THE FARTHEST PLANET VISIBLE FROM EARTH with the naked eye. Sure, you can see Uranus too, but it's rarely visible, being so far.
- SATURN IS THE FLATTEST PLANET IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM, with a 9.8% flattening. Earth's is only 0.3%!
- SATURN'S RINGS ARE THE BRIGHTEST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have rings, but Saturn's are the most visible. They're made of rock, ice and dust. The ice is what makes it so bright, as ice reflects lots of sunlight. Saturn's rings stretch out over 10 740 km from the planet, but are only 20 meters thick!
- SATURN HAS A HEXAGONAL STORM. This storm is at its north pole. Saturn is the only planet with a storm that is shaped this way.
- SATURN'S RINGS ARE ORGANISED BY MOONS. Moons like Pandora and Prometheus herd Saturn's rings with their gravity. These are called shepherd moons.
- SATURN CAN FLOAT ON WATER. The planet's overall density is 0.687 g/cm^3, so it would float on water! Of course, that's assuming that Saturn's core (denser than water) doesn't sink and the rest of the planet doesn't disappear.
- SATURN'S RINGS WERE DISCOVERED IN 1610, by Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), but he just happened to see the planet at an angle so it seemed like Saturn had two large "ears!" Galileo also discovered the 4 largest moons of Jupiter, which are called the Galilean moons!