Saturn

By Christian Lundy

How Did Saturn Get Its Name?

Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture,

whose Greek counterpart is Cronus, the father of Zeus/Jupiter.

When Was Saturn Discovered?

Saturn was discovered by

Ancient Civilizations, so no one knows exactly when it was discovered.

Distances• 6th Planet from the Sun• 1,431,000,000 km from the Sun

• 1,281,000,000 km from Earth

Basic Measurements• Surface Gravity- 10.4 m/s^2

• Mass- 568,319,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg,

or 568 Septillion, 319 Sextillion kg

• Volume- 827,129,915,150,897 km^3

• Density- 0.687 g/cm^3

• Saturn would float, because its density is lower than water’s density, which is exactly 1.

Orbit and Rotation• One year (Revolution) on

Saturn is about 29.5 Earth Years

• One day (Rotation) on Saturn is about 10.7 Earth Hours

Atmosphere• Very thick

• Mainly made up of Hydrogen and Helium

Temperatures• Temperatures usually range from -280⁰ F to 21,000⁰F at its

core

• Temperature varies depending upon the region, but it is mostly very cold.

• This is a very big difference to Earth, because Saturn has a much higher range, although Saturn is much colder, due to the increased distance from the Sun.

Composition

• Saturn is a Gas Giant. It is composed of gases, mainly Hydrogen and Helium, with liquid Hydrogen in the center. Among the liquid Hydrogen, there is a dense core of rock, ice, water, and other compounds made solid by intense pressure and heat.

AppearanceSaturn is the second largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter. It is mostly covered with gas, and it as a very thick atmosphere. It has very prominent rings, the most prominent of all the Gas Giants. It has about 60 moons, some of them inside its rings.

Weather• Very strong winds, going at about 110 m/s, or 246 mph.

• Extreme Temperatures, going down to -2800 F

• A giant hexagon-shaped cloud formation has been spotted near the north pole.

• Gigantic thunderstorms known as Great White Spots occur once every Saturn year, around the northern

hemisphere’s summer solstice.

Rings• There are seven rings, with several gaps and divisions in

between them.

• Named according to when they were discovered- A Ring, B Ring, C Ring etc..

• Made of rock and ice.

• Galileo discovered them in 1610 with his telescope.

• The rings are mostly blue, orange, and green.

Moons• About 60 Moons

• Largest is Titan, which is larger than Mercury

• Titan is the only natural satellite with a thick atmosphere

• Titan may support life

• Another moon, Enceladus, is covered with ice, which may have running water underneath it

*Not to Scale

Water

• Most water on Saturn is in the form of Ice

• There are small traces of liquid and gas water, but too small an amount to count

What Would Happen If a

Human Traveled to

Saturn?

They would never find solid ground, as Saturn does not have a solid surface. They would keep on sinking through gases until they would be crushed by the intense pressure nearer to the center. So, I do not advise going to Saturn on your next vacation.

Something Special About Saturn

• Many of Saturn’s larger moons are rumored to support life.

• On Titan, the largest, it is surrounded by a thick atmosphere, and there is evidence of running liquid.

• On Enceladus, underneath its covering of ice, scientists suspect that there is water.

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon

Enceladus, Saturn’s 6th largest moon

Picture Citations• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041225.html • http://library.thinkquest.org/11839/nsat.htm • www.joebohanon.com• http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/saturn.html • http://classroom.synonym.com/close-rocks-saturns-rings-13152.html• http://www.wallcg.com/sun-solar-system-mars-earth-jupiter-saturn-neptune-mercury-venus-

uranus-6582/

• http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=18754 • http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/dimmer-switch.html • http://explanet.info/Chapter10.htm • http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.cfm?SciencePageID=51 • http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/space/space_exploration/news.php?q=

1293654520 • http://easyscienceforkids.com/earth-science/the-solar-system/ • http://lightsinthedark.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/research-reveals-rain-shadows-from-satur

ns-rings/

• http://www.planetsedu.com/planet/saturn/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon) • http://

www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Enceladus_geysers_mask_the_length_of_Saturn_s_day

Information CitationBuckley, Don. Interactive Science. Vol. Astronomy and Space Science. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2011. Print. Redd, Nola T. "Saturn's Atmosphere: All the Way Down." Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Redd, Nola T. "Saturn's Temperature: One Cool Planet." Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Redd, Nola T. "What Is Saturn Made Of?" Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. "Solar System Exploration: Home Page." Solar System Exploration: Home Page. NASA, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.