Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and second largest planet of the Solar System in terms of diameter and mass. If compared, it is easy to see why Saturn and Jupiter have been designated as relatives. From atmospheric composition to rotation, these two planets are extremely similar.
Interesting Facts about Saturn:
In Roman mythology Saturn was the father of Jupiter, king of the gods
This relationship makes sense given that the planets Saturn and Jupiter are similar in so many respects, including size and composition. The Greek counterpart is known as Cronus, the lord of the Titans. Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday."
The most common nickname for Saturn is “The Ringed Planet”
A nickname arising from the large, beautiful and extensive ring system that encircles the planet. These rings are mostly made from chunks of ice and carbonaceous dust. They stretch out more than 12,700 km from the planet but are only a mere 20 meters thick.
Saturn is sometimes called "The Jewel of the Solar System"
It is a planet that is nothing like our own. Humans have been gazing up at Saturn for a long time. They have been wondering about it for thousands of years.
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 second-shortest day of any of the solar system’s planets.
Saturn is a gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium
Saturn is big enough 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.
Days at Saturn
Saturn has the second shortest day behind Jupiter. The length of a day on Saturn is 10 hours 32 minutes; and, did you know how scientists measure this data from various planets? They just spot a crater and wait for the crater to rotate back in view, thus determining the length of a day on a planet. However, in Saturn’s case, as there is no solid mass on the planet, they had to take into account the planet’s magnetic field for that matter.
Saturn orbits the Sun once every 29.4 Earth years
Due to the enormous distance at which the planet is positioned with respect to the Sun, Saturn takes 29.4 Earth years to make one revolution around the Sun. 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”.
Saturn has 150 moons and smaller moonlets
All of these moons are frozen, the largest of which are Titan and Rhea. The moon Enceladus also appears to have an ocean hidden below its frozen surface.
A popular moon
Enceladus, one of Saturn’s’ moon is the shiniest object in the Solar system. It is mainly because of the fact that it is made up mostly of ice that reflects almost all of the light that falls onto it.
Visitors to the planet
Only four space crafts have studied this planet. This might be due to the fact that it is at a long distance from Earth as compared to other planets. And they do not have any landing site on the planet because of the lack of solid surface. And the planet’s hot gasses won’t even allow any spacecraft unscathed either.
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