What is Planet Saturn?
Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is most famous for its magnificent giant rings. Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. It is only slightly smaller than Jupiter’s diameter, but its mass is much smaller. Saturn is mostly hydrogen with a little helium. Saturn’s surface is gaseous, but as you move, hydrogen becomes liquid and then metal.
The center of Saturn is a hard rock core. Overall, Saturn is the lowest density planet in the solar system. It is the only planet that is less dense than water, which means it will actually float on a (giant) ocean of water. Saturn’s surface can have massive storms and contains some of the fastest winds in the solar system up to 1800 km/h.
Highlights of Planet Saturn:
| Moons | 82 (and growing) |
| Mass | 95 times the mass of Earth |
| Diameter | 74,900 miles (120,536 km) |
| Year | 29.4 Earth years |
| Day | 10.7 hours |
| Average Temperature | minus 218°F (-138°C) |
| Distance from the Sun | 6th planet from the sun, 891 million miles (1434 million km) |
| Type of Planet | Gas Giant (composed mostly of hydrogen and helium) |
The Rings of Saturn
Saturn’s rings are mainly made up of particles of ice, along with dust and rock. There are billions of these particles and their size varies from dust to rock as big as a bus. The rings are located around Saturn’s equator. They start about 6,000 km from the surface and go up to 120,000 km with some gaps. The rings are about 20 meters thick and can be seen from Earth with good telescopes.
The Moon Titan
Saturn’s largest moon is Titan. Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. Titan is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. Titan’s atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen. It was discovered by Dutch astronomer Christian Huygens in 1655.
How does Saturn compare to Earth?
Saturn is very different from Earth. You cannot stand on Saturn’s surface because its surface is hydrogen gas. Saturn’s days are 10.7 hours long which is much shorter than Earth’s while Saturn’s years are 29 Earth years longer. Saturn is also much, much larger than Earth, and Saturn has at least 82 moons more than Earth’s moons. Furthermore, Saturn is unique among all the planets of the solar system with its huge and highly visible rings.
How do we know about Saturn?
Since Saturn can be seen with the naked eye, humans have known about Saturn’s existence since ancient times. Galileo was the first to notice that there was something around Saturn, but didn’t realize it was rings. Christian Huygens first noted that Saturn has rings.
The first space probe to visit Saturn and give us close-up images was Pioneer 11 in 1979. A few years later, Travel 1 and Travel 2 brought us better images. and more information about Saturn’s rings. The first spacecraft to orbit Saturn was the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft in 2004. This spacecraft sent a probe to the surface of the moon Titan and brought us all kinds of information about Titan, including the fact that Titan has liquid on its surface.
Interesting Facts about the Planet Saturn
It is named after the Roman god of agriculture.
A year on Saturn has more than 10,000 days. It will be a long school year!
Many of Saturn’s moons are named after Titans. In mythology, the Titans are siblings of the god Saturn.
The large gap between Saturn’s main rings is known as the Cassini Division.
Galileo originally called Saturn’s rings “ears”.