Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in the solar system.

Saturn
was the Roman name for Cronus, the lord of the Titans in Greek mythology. Saturn is the root of
the English word "Saturday."
Saturn is the farthest planet from Earth visible to the naked human eye, but it is through a
telescope that the planet's most outstanding features can be seen: Saturn's rings. Although the
other gas giants in the solar system Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings, those of
Saturn are without a doubt the most extraordinary.
Physical characteristics of Saturn
Saturn is a gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is bigenough to hold more
than 760 Earths, and is more massive than any other planet except Jupiter, roughly 95 times
Earth's mass. However, Saturn has the lowest density of all the planets, and is the only one less
dense than water if there were a bathtub big enough to hold it, Saturn would float.
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The yellow and gold bands seen in Saturn's atmosphere are the result of super-fast winds in the
upper atmosphere, which can reach up to 1,100 mph (1,800 km/h) around its equator, combined
with heat rising from the planet's interior.
Saturn spins faster than any other planet except Jupiter, completing a rotation roughly every 10and-a-half hours. This rapid spinning causes Saturn to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles
the planet is 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) wider at its equator than between the poles.
Saturn's most recent curiosity may be the giant hexagon circling its north pole, with each of its
sides nearly 7,500 miles (12,500 km) across big enough to fit nearly four Earths inside.
Thermal images show it reaches some 60 miles (100 km) down into the planet's atmosphere. It
remains uncertain what causes it.
Other titanic storms appear in Saturns atmosphere once every Saturn year (approximately 30
Earth-years), disrupting the temperature and winds of the planets skies. Six such storms have
been observed on the planet since 1876, but in 2011, NASAs Cassini spacecraft became the first
orbiter to observe one.
Like other giant planets, Saturn also has northern and southern lights, caused by particles from
the sun.

Composition & structure

Atmospheric composition (by volume): 96.3 percent molecular hydrogen, 3.25 percent
helium, minor amounts of methane, ammonia, hydrogen deuteride, ethane, ammonia ice
aerosols, water ice aerosols, ammonia hydrosulfide aerosols
Magnetic field: Saturn has a magnetic field about 578 times more powerful than Earth's.
Chemical composition: Saturn seems to have a hot solid inner core of iron and rocky material
surrounded by an outer core probably composed of ammonia, methane, and water. Next is a
layer of highly compressed, liquid metallic hydrogen, followed by a region of viscous hydrogen
and helium. This hydrogen and helium becomes gaseous near the planet's surface and merges
with its atmosphere.
Internal structure: Saturn seems to have a core between about 10 to 20 times as massive as
Earth.
Orbit & rotation
Average distance from the sun: 885,904,700 miles (1,426,725,400 km). By comparison:
9.53707 times that of Earth.
Perihelion (closest approach to sun): 838,519,000 miles (1,349,467,000 km). By comparison:
9.177 times that of Earth.
Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 934,530,000 miles (1,503,983,000 km). By comparison:
9.886 times that of Earth.
Saturn's moons
Saturn has at least 62 moons. Since the planet was named after Cronus, lord of the Titans in
Greek mythology, most of Saturn's moons are named after other Titans, their descendants, as
well as after giants from Gallic, Inuit and Norse myths.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is slightly larger than Mercury, and is the second-largest moon in
the solar system behind Jupiter's moon Ganymede. (Earth's moon is the fifth largest.) Titan is
veiled under a very thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere that might be like what Earth's was long ago,

before life. While the Earth's atmosphere extends only about 37 miles (60 km) into space, Titan's
reaches nearly 10 times as far. The atmosphere contains a number of hydrocarbons, chemicals
that primarily make up fossil fuels on Earth. Methane rain falls from the sky and moves through
the moons icy crust. A recent study detected propylene, a chemical used to make plastics, in the
planets atmosphere.
These moons can possess bizarre features. Pan and Atlas are shaped like flying
saucers, Iapetus has one side as bright as snow and one side as dark as coal. Enceladus shows
evidence of "ice volcanism," spewing out water and other chemicals from the 101
geysers spotted at the moons southern pole. A number of these satellites, such as Prometheus
and Pandora, are shepherd moons, interacting with ring material to keep rings in their orbits.
Though scientists have identified many moons, the chaotic system has other small moons
constantly being created and destroyed.
[See also: Dione: Saturn's Turned-Around Moon, Hyperion: Saturn's Spongy Moon, Mimas:
Saturn's Death Star Moon, Rhea: Saturn's Dirty Snowball Moon and Tethys: Saturn's Icy Moon]
Saturn's rings
Galileo Galilei was the first to see Saturn's rings in 1610, although from his telescope they
resembled handles or arms. It took Dutch astronomerChristiaan Huygens, who had a more
powerful telescope, to propose that Saturn had a thin, flat ring.
Astronomers with even more powerful telescopes discovered that Saturn actually has many rings
made of billions of particles of ice and rock, ranging in size from a grain of sugar to the size of a
house. The largest ring spans up to 200 times the diameter of the planet. The rings are believed
to be debris left over from comets, asteroids or shattered moons. Although they extend
thousands of miles from the planet, the main rings are typically only about 30 feet thick.
The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft revealed vertical formations in some of the rings, with particles
piling up in bumps and ridges more than 2 miles (3 km) high.
The rings are generally named alphabetically in the order they were discovered. They are usually
relatively close to each other, with one key exception caused by the Cassini Division, a gap some
2,920 miles (4,700 km) wide. The main rings, working out from the planet, are known as C, B and
A, with the Cassini Division separating B and A. The innermost is the extremely faint D ring, while
the outermost to date, revealed in 2009, could fit a billion Earths within it.
Mysterious spokes have been seen in Saturn's rings, which might form and disperse over a few
hours. Scientists have conjectured these spokes might be composed of electrically charged
sheets of dust-sized particles created by small meteors impacting the rings or electron beams
from the planet's lightning. Saturn's F Ring also has a curious braided appearance it is
composed of several narrow rings, and bends, kinks, and bright clumps in them can give the
illusion that these strands are braided. Changes in the rings of Saturn, as well as the rings of
Jupiter, are caused by impacts from asteroids and comets.
Saturn's gravitational impact on the solar system
As the most massive planet in the solar system after Jupiter, the pull of Saturn's gravity has
helped shape the fate of our system. It may have helpedviolently hurl Neptune and Uranus
outward. It, along with Jupiter, might also have slung a barrage of debris toward the inner planets
early in the system's history.
Research & exploration
The first spacecraft to reach Saturn was Pioneer 11 in 1979, flying within 13,700 miles (22,000
km) of it, which discovered the planet's two of its outer rings as well as the presence of a strong
magnetic field. The Voyager spacecraft discovered the planet's rings are made up of ringlets, and
sent back data that led to the discovery or confirmation of the existence of nine moons.
The Cassini spacecraft now in orbit around Saturn is the largest interplanetary spacecraft ever
built, a two-story-tall probe that, at 6 tons in weight (5,650 kilograms), is roughly equal in mass
to an empty 30-passenger school bus. It discovered plumes on the icy moon Enceladus, and
carried the Huygens probe, which plunged through Titan's atmosphere to successfully land on its
surface. After a decade of observation, Cassini has returned incredible data about the planet and
its moons, as well as a photo recreating the originalPale Blue Dot image, which captures Earth
from behind Saturn, in 2013.

Saturns Rings
While all the gas giants in our solar system have rings none of them are as extensive or
distinctive as Saturns. The rings were discovered by Galileo Galilei 1610 who observed them
with a telescope. The first up close view of the rings were by Pioneer 11 spacecraft which flew
by Saturn on September 1, 1971.
Saturns rings are made up of are billions of particles that range in size from tiny dust grains to to
objects as large as mountains. These are made up of chunks of ice and rock, believed to have
come from asteroids comets or even moons, that broke apart before they reached the planet.
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). The F ring is kept in place by two of Saturns
moons, Prometheus and Pandora, these are referred to as shepherd moons. Other satellites are
responsible for creating divisions in the rings as well as shepherding them.
Saturns Atmosphere
Saturns atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen (96%) and helium (3%) with traces of
other substances like methane, ammonia, acetylene, ethane, propane and phosphine. 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.
Facts About Saturn

Saturn can be seen with the naked eye.

It is the fifth brightest object in the solar system and is also easily studied through
binoculars or a small telescope.

Saturn was known to the ancients, including the Babylonians and Far Eastern
observers.
It is named for the Roman god Saturnus, and was known to the Greeks as Cronus.

Saturn is the flattest planet.

Its polar diameter is 90% of its equatorial diameter, this is due to its low density and fast
rotation. Saturn turns on its axis once every 10 hours and 34 minutes giving it the secondshortest day of any of the solar systems planets.

Saturn orbits the Sun once every 29.4 Earth years.

Its slow movement against the backdrop of stars earned it the nickname of Lubadsagush
from the ancient Assyrians. The name means oldest of the old.

Saturns upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds.

The top layers are mostly ammonia ice. Below them, the clouds are largely water ice.
Below are layers of cold hydrogen and sulfur ice mixtures.

Saturn has oval-shaped storms similar to Jupiters.

The region around its north pole has a hexagonal-shaped pattern of clouds. Scientists think
this may be a wave pattern in the upper clouds. The planet also has a vortex over its south
pole that resembles a hurricane-like storm.

Saturn is made mostly of hydrogen.

It exists in layers that get denser farther into the planet. Eventually, deep inside, the
hydrogen becomes metallic. At the core lies a hot interior.

Saturn has the most extensive rings in the solar system.

The Saturnian rings are made mostly of chunks of ice and small amounts of carbonaceous
dust. The rings stretch out more than 120,700 km from the planet, but are are amazingly
thin: only about 20 meters thick.

Saturn has 150 moons and smaller moonlets.

All are frozen worlds. The largest moons are Titan and Rhea. Enceladus appears to have an
ocean below its frozen surface.

Titan is a moon with complex and dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere.

It is composed mostly of water ice and rock. Its frozen surface has lakes of liquid methane
and landscapes covered with frozen nitrogen. Planetary scientists consider Titan to be a
possible harbour for life, but not Earth-like life.

Four spacecraft have visited Saturn.

Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and the Cassini-Huygens mission have all studied the planet.
Cassini continues to orbit Saturn, sending back a wealth of data about the planet, its
moons, and rings.