Saturn - “The Lord of the Rings. Who Discovered Saturn? What is Saturn made of

Photo taken from the Cassini spacecraft

The planet Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. Everyone knows about this planet. Almost everyone can easily recognize her because his rings are his business card.

General information about the planet Saturn

Do you know what her famous rings are made of? The rings are composed of ice stones ranging in size from microns to several meters. Saturn, like all giant planets, consists mainly of gases. Its rotation ranges from 10 hours and 39 minutes to 10 hours and 46 minutes. These measurements are based on radio observations of the planet.

Image of the planet Saturn

Using the latest propulsion systems and launch vehicles, it will take a spacecraft at least 6 years and 9 months to arrive at the planet.

At the moment, the only Cassini spacecraft has been in orbit since 2004, and it has been the main provider of scientific data and discoveries for many years. For children, the planet Saturn, as well as for adults, is truly the most beautiful of the planets.

General characteristics

The largest planet in the solar system is Jupiter. But the title of the second largest planet belongs to Saturn.

Just for comparison, the diameter of Jupiter is about 143 thousand kilometers, and Saturn is only 120 thousand kilometers. Jupiter is 1.18 times larger than Saturn, and 3.34 times more massive in mass.

In fact, Saturn is very large but lightweight. And if the planet Saturn is immersed in water, it will float on the surface. The planet's gravity is only 91% of Earth's.

Saturn and Earth differ 9.4 times in size and 95 times in mass. The volume of the gas giant could fit 763 such planets as ours.

Orbit

The time of a complete revolution of the planet around the Sun is 29.7 years. Like all planets in the solar system, its orbit is not a perfect circle, but has an elliptical trajectory. The distance to the Sun is on average 1.43 billion km, or 9.58 AU.

The closest point of Saturn's orbit is called perihelion and it is located 9 astronomical units from the Sun (1 AU is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun).

The most distant point of the orbit is called aphelion and it is located 10.1 astronomical units from the Sun.

Cassini crosses the plane of Saturn's rings.

One of the interesting features of Saturn's orbit is as follows. Like Earth, Saturn's axis of rotation is tilted relative to the plane of the Sun. Halfway through its orbit, Saturn's south pole faces the Sun and then north. During the Saturnian year (almost 30 Earth years), there are periods when the planet is seen from the Earth from the edge and the plane of the giant's rings coincides with our angle of view, and they disappear from sight. The thing is that the rings are extremely thin, so it is almost impossible to see them from the edge from a great distance. The next time the rings will disappear for an Earth observer in 2024-2025. Since the year of Saturn is almost 30 years old, since Galileo first observed it through a telescope in 1610, he has orbited the Sun about 13 times.

Climatic features

One of the interesting facts is that the axis of the planet is tilted to the plane of the ecliptic (like that of the Earth). And just like us, there are seasons on Saturn. Halfway through its orbit, the Northern Hemisphere receives more solar radiation, and then things change and the Southern Hemisphere is bathed in sunlight. This creates huge storm systems that vary significantly depending on the location of the planet in orbit.

Storm in the atmosphere of Saturn. Composite image, artificial colors, MT3, MT2, CB2 filters and infrared data were used

The seasons affect the weather of the planet. Over the past 30 years, scientists have found that wind speeds around the planet's equatorial regions have decreased by about 40%. NASA's Voyager probes in 1980-1981 found wind speeds as high as 1,700 km / h, while currently only about 1,000 km / h (2003 measurements).

The time for a complete revolution of Saturn around its axis is 10.656 hours. It took scientists a lot of time and research to find such an accurate figure. Since the planet has no surface, there is no way to observe the passage of the same regions of the planet, thus estimating its rotation speed. Scientists used radio emissions from the planet to estimate the speed of rotation and find the exact length of the day.

Image gallery

Pictures of the planet taken by the Hubble telescope and the Cassini spacecraft.

Physical properties

Hubble telescope image

The equatorial diameter is 120,536 km, 9.44 times greater than that of the Earth;

The polar diameter is 108,728 km, 8.55 times greater than that of the Earth;

The area of \u200b\u200bthe planet is 4.27 x 10 * 10 km2, which is 83.7 times more than that of the Earth;

Volume - 8.2713 x 10 * 14 km3, 763.6 times more than that of the Earth;

Mass - 5.6846 x 10 * 26 kg, 95.2 times more than that of the Earth;

Density - 0.687 g / cm3, 8 times less than that of the Earth, Saturn is even lighter than water;

This information is incomplete, in more detail about the general properties of the planet Saturn, we will write below.

Saturn has 62 satellites; in fact, about 40% of the satellites in our solar system revolve around it. Many of these satellites are very small and not visible from Earth. The latter were discovered by the Cassini spacecraft, and scientists expect the spacecraft to find even more icy satellites over time.

Despite the fact that Saturn is too hostile for any life form that we know, its companion Enceladus is one of the most suitable candidates for the search for life. Enceladus is notable for having ice geysers on its surface. There is some mechanism (probably the tidal effect of Saturn) that creates enough heat for liquid water to exist. Some scientists believe there is a chance for life to exist on Enceladus.

Planet formation

Like the rest of the planets, Saturn formed from a solar nebula about 4.6 billion years ago. This solar nebula was a vast cloud of cold gas and dust that may have collided with another cloud, or supernova shock. This event initiated the beginning of the contraction of the protosolar nebula with the further formation of the solar system.

The cloud contracted more and more until a protostar formed in the center, which was surrounded by a flat disk of material. The inner part of this disk contained more heavy elements, and formed the terrestrial planets, while the outer region was quite cold and, in fact, remained untouched.

More and more planetesimals were being formed by the material from the solar nebula. These planetesimals collided together, merging into planets. At some point in Saturn's early history, its moon, roughly 300 km across, was torn apart by its gravity and created rings that still orbit the planet today. In fact, the main parameters of the planet directly depended on the place of its formation and the amount of gas that it was able to capture.

Since Saturn is smaller than Jupiter, it cools faster. Astronomers believe that as soon as its outer atmosphere cooled down to 15 degrees Kelvin, helium condensed into droplets that began to descend towards the core. The friction of these droplets has warmed up the planet, and now it emits about 2.3 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.

Forming rings

Planet view from space

The main distinguishing feature of Saturn is the rings. How did the rings form? There are several versions. The conventional theory is that the rings are almost the same age as the planet itself and have existed for at least 4 billion years. In the early history of the giant, a 300 km satellite came too close to it and was torn to pieces. There is also the possibility that the two satellites collided together, or a sufficiently large comet or asteroid hit the satellite, and it just fell apart right in orbit.

Alternative hypothesis of ring formation

Another hypothesis is that there was no destruction of the satellite. Instead, the rings, as well as the planet itself, formed from the solar nebula.

But here's the problem: the ice in the rings is too clean. If the rings formed together with Saturn, billions of years ago, then one should expect that they would be completely covered with dirt from the effects of micrometeorites. But today we see that they are as pure as if they formed less than 100 million years ago.

It is possible that the rings are constantly renewing their material by sticking and colliding with each other, making it difficult to determine their age. This is one of the mysteries still to be solved.

Atmosphere

Like the rest of the giant planets, Saturn's atmosphere consists of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium, with trace amounts of other substances such as water and methane.

Features of the atmosphere

The planet's appearance in visible light looks calmer than that of Jupiter. The planet has streaks of clouds in the atmosphere, but they are pale orange and faintly visible. The orange color is due to sulfur compounds in its atmosphere. In addition to sulfur, there are small amounts of nitrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere. These atoms react with each other and, when exposed to sunlight, form complex molecules that resemble smog. At different wavelengths of light, as well as enhanced Cassini images, the atmosphere appears much more impressive and turbulent.

Winds in the atmosphere

The planet's atmosphere forms some of the fastest winds in the solar system (faster only on Neptune). NASA's Voyager spacecraft, which flew by Saturn, measured the speed of the winds, it was in the region of 1800 km / h at the planet's equator. Large white storms form within stripes that revolve around the planet, but unlike Jupiter, these storms last only a few months and are absorbed by the atmosphere.

The clouds of the visible part of the atmosphere are composed of ammonia, and are located 100 km below the upper part of the troposphere (tropopause), where the temperature drops to -250 ° C. Below this boundary, the clouds are composed of ammonium hydrosulfide and are approximately 170 km lower. In this layer, the temperature is only -70 degrees C. The deepest clouds are water and are located about 130 km below the tropopause. The temperature here is 0 degrees.

The lower, the more pressure and temperature rise and hydrogen gas slowly turns into liquid.

Hexagon

One of the strangest weather events ever discovered is the so-called northern hexagonal storm.

The hexagonal clouds around the planet Saturn were first discovered by Voyagers 1 and 2 after they visited the planet more than three decades ago. More recently, the hexagon of Saturn was photographed in great detail using NASA's Cassini spacecraft, currently in orbit around Saturn. The hexagon (or hexagonal vortex) is about 25,000 km in diameter. It can fit 4 such planets as Earth.

The hexagon rotates at exactly the same speed as the planet itself. However, the planet's North Pole is different from the South Pole, which has a huge hurricane at its center with a giant funnel. Each side of the hexagon is about 13,800 km in size, and the entire structure makes one revolution around the axis in 10 hours and 39 minutes, just like the planet itself.

The reason for the formation of the hexagon

So why is the vortex at the North Pole hexagonal? Astronomers find it difficult to answer this question 100%, but one of the experts and team members in charge of Cassini's visual and infrared spectrometer said: “This is a very strange storm with precise geometric shapes with six almost identical sides. We have never seen anything like this on other planets. "

Gallery of images of the planet's atmosphere

Saturn - planet of storms

Jupiter is known for its violent storms, which are clearly visible through the upper atmosphere, especially the Great Red Spot. But there are storms on Saturn too, although they are not so large and intense, but compared to Earthly ones, they are simply huge.

One of the largest storms was the Great White Spot, also known as the Great White Oval, which was observed with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. Such storms probably appear once a year on Saturn (once every 30 Earth years).

Atmosphere and surface

The planet closely resembles a ball made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Its density and temperature change as it moves deeper into the planet.

Atmosphere composition

The planet's outer atmosphere consists of 93% molecular hydrogen, the rest helium and trace amounts of ammonia, acetylene, ethane, phosphine and methane. It is these trace elements that create the visible stripes and clouds that we see in the images.

Core

General scheme diagram of the structure of Saturn

According to the theory of accretion, the core of the planet is rocky with a large mass, sufficient to capture a large amount of gases in the early solar nebula. Its core, like that of other gas giants, would have to form and become massive much faster than that of other planets in order to be overgrown with primary gases.

The gas giant most likely formed from rocky or icy components, and the low density indicates an admixture of liquid metal and stone in the core. It is the only planet whose density is lower than that of water. In any case, the internal structure of the planet Saturn is more like a ball of thick syrup with admixtures of stone fragments.

Metallic hydrogen

The metallic hydrogen in the core generates a magnetic field. The magnetic field created in this way is slightly weaker than that of the Earth and extends only to the orbit of its largest satellite, Titan. Titanium contributes to the appearance of ionized particles in the planet's magnetosphere, which create auroras in the atmosphere. Voyager 2 discovered a high pressure from the solar wind on the planet's magnetosphere. Measurements taken during the same mission indicate that the magnetic field extends only over 1.1 million km.

Planet size

The planet has an equatorial diameter of 120,536 km, which is 9.44 times larger than that of the Earth. Its radius is 60,268 km, making it the second largest planet in our solar system, second only to Jupiter. He, like all other planets, is an oblate spheroid. This means that its equatorial diameter is larger than the diameter measured across the poles. In the case of Saturn, this distance is quite significant, due to the high speed of rotation of the planet. The polar diameter is 108728 km, which is 9.796% less than the equatorial diameter, so the shape of Saturn is oval.

Around Saturn

Length of the day

The rotation speed of the atmosphere and the planet itself can be measured by three different methods. The first is to measure the speed of rotation of the planet through the cloud layer in the equatorial part of the planet. It has a rotation period of 10 hours and 14 minutes. If measurements are taken in other regions of Saturn, the rotation speed will be 10 hours 38 minutes and 25.4 seconds. Today, the most accurate method for measuring the length of a day is based on the measurement of radio emission. This method gives the planet rotation speed equal to 10 hours 39 minutes and 22.4 seconds. Despite these numbers, the current rate of rotation of the planet's interior is impossible to accurately measure.

Again, the equatorial diameter of the planet is 120,536 km, and the polar diameter is 108,728 km. It is important to know why that this difference in these numbers affects the planet's rotation rate. The situation is the same on other giant planets, especially the difference in the rotation of different parts of the planet is expressed in Jupiter.

The length of the day according to the radio emission of the planet

Using radio emission that comes from the interior of Saturn, scientists were able to determine its rotation period. Charged particles trapped in its magnetic field emit radio waves when they interact with Saturn's magnetic field, at about 100 kilohertz.

The Voyager probe measured the planet's radio emissions for nine months as it flew by in the 1980s, and the rotation was determined to be 10 hours 39 minutes 24 seconds, with an error of 7 seconds. The Ulysses spacecraft also took measurements 15 years later, and gave a result of 10 hours 45 minutes 45 seconds, with an error of 36 seconds.

It turns out a whole 6 minutes of difference! Either the planet's rotation has slowed down over the years, or we missed something. The Cassini interplanetary probe measured these same radio emissions with a plasma spectrometer, and scientists found that in addition to the 6 minute difference in 30-year measurements, they found that rotation also changes by one percent per week.

Scientists believe that this may be due to two things: the solar wind coming from the Sun interferes with measurements, and the particles of Enceladus geysers affect the magnetic field. Both of these factors cause the radio emission to vary and they can cause different results at the same time.

New data

In 2007, it was found that some point sources of radio emission from the planet do not correspond to the rotation speed of Saturn. Some scientists believe that the difference is due to the impact of the satellite Enceladus. Water vapor from these geysers enters the planet's orbit and becomes ionized, thereby affecting the planet's magnetic field. This slows down the rotation of the magnetic field, but not significantly compared to the rotation of the planet itself. Current estimates are that Saturn's rotation, based on various measurements from the spacecraft Cassini, Voyager and Pioneer, is 10 hours 32 minutes and 35 seconds as of September 2007.

The basic characteristics of the planet, as reported by Cassini, suggest that solar wind is the most likely reason for the difference in data. Differences in the measurements of the rotation of the magnetic field occur every 25 days, which corresponds to the period of the Sun's rotation. The solar wind speed is also constantly changing, which should be taken into account. Enceladus can make long-term changes.

Gravity

Saturn is a giant planet and does not have a solid surface, and what is impossible to see is its surface (we see only the upper cloud layer) and feel the force of gravity. But let's imagine that there is a certain conditional border that will correspond to its imaginary surface. What would be the force of gravity on the planet if you could stand on the surface?

Although Saturn has a greater mass than Earth (the second largest mass in the solar system, after Jupiter), it is also the “lightest” of all the planets in the solar system. The actual force of gravity at any point on its imaginary surface will be 91% of that on Earth. In other words, if your scales show your weight equal to 100 kg on Earth (oh, horror!), On the "surface" of Saturn you would weigh 92 kg (slightly better, but still).

For comparison, on the "surface" of Jupiter the force of gravity is 2.5 times greater than that of the Earth. On Mars, only 1/3, and on the Moon 1/6.

What makes gravity so weak? The giant planet is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium, which it accumulated at the very beginning of the formation of the solar system. These elements were formed at the beginning of the universe as a result of the Big Bang. This is due to the fact that the planet has an extremely low density.

Planet temperature

Voyager 2 Snapshot

The uppermost layer of the atmosphere, which is located on the border with space, has a temperature of -150 C. But, as it sinks into the atmosphere, the pressure rises and the temperature rises accordingly. In the core of the planet, the temperature can reach 11,700 C. But where is the temperature so high? It is formed due to the huge amount of hydrogen and helium, which, as it sinks into the bowels of the planet, contracts and heats up the core.

Thanks to gravitational contraction, the planet actually generates heat, releasing 2.5 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.

At the bottom of the cloud layer, which is composed of water ice, the average temperature is -23 degrees Celsius. Above this layer of ice is ammonium hydrosulfide, with an average temperature of -93 C. Above it are clouds of ammonia ice that color the atmosphere orange and yellow.

What does Saturn look like and what color is it

Even when looking through a small telescope, the planet's color is seen as pale yellow with tints of orange. With more powerful telescopes such as the Hubble or looking at images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, thin layers of clouds and storms can be seen, consisting of a mixture of white and orange. But what gives Saturn this color?

Like Jupiter, the planet is made up almost entirely of hydrogen, with a small amount of helium, as well as minor amounts of other compounds such as ammonia, water vapor and various simple hydrocarbons.

Only the upper cloud layer, which mainly consists of ammonia crystals, is responsible for the color of the planet, while the lower cloud layer is either ammonium hydrosulfide or water.

Saturn has a striped atmosphere pattern similar to Jupiter, but these stripes are much fainter and wider around the equator. It also lacks the long-lived storms - nothing like the Great Red Spot - that often occur when Jupiter approaches the northern hemisphere summer solstice.

Some of Cassini's photos appear blue, like Uranus. But this is probably because we see light scattering from Cassini's point of view.

Structure

Saturn in the night sky

The rings around the planet have captured the imagination of people for hundreds of years. It was also natural to want to know what the planet is made of. Through various methods, scientists have learned that the chemical composition of Saturn is 96% hydrogen, 3% helium, and 1% various elements, which include methane, ammonia, ethane, hydrogen and deuterium. Some of these gases can be found in its atmosphere, in liquid and molten states.

The state of gases changes with increasing pressure and temperature. At the top of the clouds, you will encounter ammonia crystals, at the bottom of the clouds with ammonium hydrosulfide and / or water. Under the clouds, atmospheric pressure increases, which causes the temperature to rise and the hydrogen becomes liquid. As you move deeper into the planet, the pressure and temperature continue to increase. As a result, in the core, hydrogen becomes metallic, passing into this special state of aggregation. The planet is believed to have a loose core, which, in addition to hydrogen, is composed of rock and some metals.

Modern space exploration has led to many discoveries in the Saturn system. Research began with a flyby of the Pioneer 11 spacecraft in 1979. This mission discovered the F ring. Voyager 1 flew by the following year, sending surface details of some of its satellites to Earth. He also proved that the atmosphere on Titan is not transparent to visible light. In 1981, Voyager 2 visited Saturn, and detected changes in the atmosphere, and also confirmed the presence of the Maxwell and Keeler gap, which Voyager 1 first saw.

After Voyager 2, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrived in the system, which entered orbit around the planet in 2004; you can read more about its mission in this article.

Radiation

When NASA's Cassini spacecraft first arrived on the planet, it detected thunderstorms and radiation belts around the planet. He even found a new radiation belt located inside the planet's ring. The new radiation belt is 139,000 km from the center of Saturn and extends to 362,000 km.

Northern lights on Saturn

Video showing the north, created from images from the Hubble telescope and the Cassini spacecraft.

Due to the presence of a magnetic field, charged particles of the Sun are captured by the magnetosphere and form radiation belts. These charged particles move along the lines of the magnetic force field and collide with the planet's atmosphere. The mechanism of occurrence of the aurora is similar to that of the Earth, but due to the different composition of the atmosphere, the auroras on the giant are purple, in contrast to the green ones on Earth.

Saturn's aurora through the Hubble telescope

Gallery of images of aurora borealis

Nearest neighbors

What is the closest planet to Saturn? It depends on where in the orbit it is at the moment, as well as the position of other planets.

For most of the orbit, the closest planet is. When Saturn and Jupiter are at their minimum distance from each other, they are only 655 million km apart.

When they are located on opposite sides of each other, the planets Saturn sometimes come very close to each other, and at this moment they are separated by 1.43 billion km from each other.

General information

The following planet facts are based on NASA planetary bulletins.

Weight - 568.46 x 10 * 24 kg

Volume: 82,713 x 10 * 10 km3

Average radius: 58232 km

Average diameter: 116 464 km

Density: 0.687 g / cm3

First space speed: 35.5 km / s

Free fall acceleration: 10.44 m / s2

Natural satellites: 62

Distance from the Sun (semi-major axis of the orbit): 1.43353 billion km

Orbital Period: 10,759.22 days

Perihelion: 1.35255 billion km

Aphelios: 1.5145 billion km

Orbital speed: 9.69 km / s

Orbit inclination: 2.485 degrees

Orbital eccentricity: 0.0565

Sidereal period of rotation: 10.656 hours

Period of rotation around the axis: 10.656 hours

Axial tilt: 26.73 °

Who discovered: it has been known since prehistoric times

Minimum distance from Earth: 1.1955 billion km

Maximum distance from Earth: 1.6585 billion km

Maximum apparent diameter from Earth: 20.1 arc seconds

Minimum apparent diameter from Earth: 14.5 arc seconds

Apparent magnitude (maximum): 0.43 magnitude

History

Space image taken by the Hubble Telescope

The planet is clearly visible with the naked eye, so it is difficult to tell when the planet was first discovered. Why is the planet called Saturn? It is named after the Roman god of the harvest - this god corresponds to the Greek god Kronos. That is why the origin of the name is Roman.

Galileo

Saturn and its rings were a mystery until Galileo first made his primitive but working telescope and looked at the planet in 1610. Of course, Galileo did not understand what he was seeing and thought that the rings were large satellites on either side of the planet. This was before Christian Huygens used the best telescope to see that they were not actually satellites, but rings. Huygens was also the first to discover the largest satellite, Titan. Despite the fact that the planet's visibility allows it to be observed from almost everywhere, its satellites, like the rings, are visible only through a telescope.

Jean Dominique Cassini

He discovered a gap in the rings, later called Cassini, and was the first to discover 4 moons of the planet: Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys and Dione.

William Herschel

In 1789, astronomer William Herschel discovered two more moons - Mimas and Enceladus. And in 1848, British scientists discovered a satellite called Hyperion.

Before the spacecraft flew to the planet, we knew not so much about it, despite the fact that you can even see the planet with the naked eye. In the 70s and 80s, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 spacecraft, which became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn, passing 20,000 km from the planet's cloud layer. It was followed by the launches of Voyager 1 in 1980, and Voyager 2 in August 1981.

In July 2004, NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrived in the Saturn system, and compiled the most detailed description of the planet Saturn and its system from the results of observations. Cassini has flown nearly 100 orbits around Titan's moon, several times around many other moons, and has sent us thousands of images of the planet and its moons. Cassini discovered 4 new moons, a new ring, and discovered seas of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan.

Extended animation of Cassini flight in the Saturn system

Rings

They are composed of ice particles orbiting the planet. There are several main rings that are clearly visible from Earth and astronomers use special designations for each of the rings of Saturn. But how many rings does the planet Saturn actually have?

The rings: view from Cassini

We will try to answer this question. The rings themselves are divided into the following parts. The two densest parts of the ring are designated A and B, they are separated by a Cassini slit, followed by ring C. After the 3 main rings, there are smaller dust rings: D, G, E, as well as ring F, which is the outermost ... So how many base rings are there? That's right - 8!

These three main rings and 5 dust rings make up the bulk. But there are a few more rings, for example, Janus, Meton, Pallen, as well as the arcs of the Anfa ring.

There are also smaller rings and gaps in various rings that are difficult to count (for example, the Encke gap, Huygens gap, Dawes gap, and many others). Further observation of the rings will make it possible to clarify their parameters and number.

Disappearing rings

Due to the inclination of the planet's orbit, the rings become visible edge-on every 14-15 years, and due to the fact that they are very thin, they actually disappear from the field of view of Earth observers. In 1612, Galileo noticed that the satellites he discovered had disappeared somewhere. The situation was so strange that Galileo even abandoned observations of the planet (most likely as a result of the collapse of hopes!). He had discovered the rings (and mistook them for companions) two years earlier and was instantly fascinated by them.

Ring parameters

The planet is sometimes called the “pearl of the solar system” because its ring system looks like a corona. These rings are composed of dust, stone and ice. That is why the rings do not disintegrate, because it is not integral, but consists of billions of particles. Some of the material in the ring system is the size of grains of sand, and some objects are larger than high-rise buildings, reaching a kilometer in diameter. What are rings made of? Mostly ice particles, although there are dust rings. It is striking that each ring rotates at a different speed in relation to the planet. The average density of the planet's rings is so low that stars can be seen through them.

Saturn is not the only planet with a ring system. All gas giants have rings. Saturn's rings stand out because they are the largest and brightest. The rings are about one kilometer thick and span an area up to 482,000 kilometers from the center of the planet.

The names of Saturn's rings are listed alphabetically according to the order in which they were discovered. This makes the rings a little confusing, listing them out of order from the planet. Below is a list of the main rings and the spaces between them, as well as the distance from the center of the planet and their width.

Ring sounds

In this great video, you hear the sounds of the planet Saturn, which is the planet's radio emission translated into sound. Kilometer-range radio emissions are generated along with the auroras on the planet.

The Cassini Plasma Spectrometer performed high-resolution measurements that allowed scientists to convert radio waves into audio by shifting frequency.

The appearance of the rings

How did the rings come about? The simplest answer to why the planet has rings and what they are made of is that the planet has accumulated a lot of dust and ice at different distances from itself. These elements were most likely trapped by gravity. Although some believe that they were formed as a result of the destruction of a small satellite, which came too close to the planet and fell into the Roche limit, as a result of which it was torn to pieces by the planet itself.

Some scientists speculate that all the material in the rings is the products of collisions between satellites and asteroids or comets. After the collision, the remnants of the asteroids were able to escape the planet's gravitational pull and formed rings.

Regardless of which of these versions is correct, the rings are quite impressive. In fact, Saturn is the lord of the rings. After exploring the rings, it is necessary to study the ring systems of other planets: Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter. Each of these systems is weaker, but still interesting in its own way.

Ring Pictures Gallery

Life on Saturn

It is difficult to imagine a less hospitable planet for life than Saturn. The planet is almost entirely composed of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of water ice in the lower cloud. The temperature at the top of the clouds can drop to -150 C.

As you descend into the atmosphere, the pressure and temperature will increase. If the temperature is warm enough so that the water does not freeze, then the atmospheric pressure at this level is the same as a few kilometers under the Earth's ocean.

Life on the satellites of the planet

To find life, scientists suggest looking at the planet's satellites. They are made up of significant amounts of water ice, and their gravitational interaction with Saturn likely keeps their insides warm. The satellite Enceladus is known to have geysers of water on its surface, which erupt almost continuously. It is possible that it has huge reserves of warm water under the ice crust (almost like Europe).

Another moon, Titan, has lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons and is considered a place that could potentially create life. Astronomers believe Titan is very similar in composition to Earth in its early history. After the Sun turns into a red dwarf (in 4-5 billion years), the temperature on the satellite will become favorable for the origin and maintenance of life, and a large amount of hydrocarbons, including complex ones, will be the primary “soup”.

Position in the sky

Saturn and its six moons, amateur shot

Saturn is visible in the sky as a rather bright star. The current coordinates of the planet are best clarified in specialized planetarium programs, for example, Stellarium, and events related to its coverage or passage over a particular region, as well as everything about the planet Saturn, can be seen in the article 100 astronomical events of the year. The confrontation of the planet always provides a chance to look at it in maximum detail.

The nearest confrontation

Knowing the ephemeris of the planet and its magnitude, finding Saturn in the starry sky will not be difficult. However, if you have little experience, it can take a long time to find it, so we recommend using amateur telescopes with a Go-To mount. Use a telescope with a Go-To mount and you don't need to know the coordinates of the planet or where you can see it now.

Flight to the planet

How long will a space journey to Saturn take? Depending on which route you choose, the flight may take a different amount of time.

For example: Pioneer 11 took six and a half years to reach the planet. Voyager 1 took three years and two months, Voyager 2 took four years, and the Cassini spacecraft six years and nine months! The New Horizons spacecraft used Saturn as a gravitational springboard on its way to Pluto, and arrived there two years and four months after launch. Why is there such a huge difference in flight times?

The first factor that determines flight time

Let's consider whether the spacecraft is launched directly to Saturn or is it simultaneously using other celestial bodies as a slingshot?

The second factor determining flight time

This is a type of spacecraft engine, and the third factor is whether we are going to fly over the planet or enter its orbit.

With these factors in mind, let's take a look at the missions mentioned above. Pioneer 11 and Cassini took advantage of the gravitational influence of other planets before heading towards Saturn. These flyby of other bodies added extra years to an already long trip. Voyager 1 and 2 used only Jupiter on their way to Saturn and arrived there much faster. The New Horizons ship had several distinct advantages over all other probes. The two main advantages are that it has the fastest and most advanced engine and was launched on a short trajectory to Saturn on its way to Pluto.

Research stages

Panoramic photograph of Saturn taken on July 19, 2013 by the Cassini apparatus. In the discharged ring on the left - the white dot is Enceladus. The earth is visible below and to the right of the center of the image.

In 1979, the first spacecraft reached the giant planet.

Pioneer-11

Created in 1973, Pioneer 11 orbited Jupiter and used the planet's gravity to alter its trajectory and head towards Saturn. He arrived to him on September 1, 1979, having passed 22,000 km above the cloudy layer of the planet. For the first time in history, he conducted close-up studies of Saturn and transmitted close-up photographs of the planet, discovering a previously unknown ring.

Voyager 1

NASA's Voyager 1 probe was the next spacecraft to visit the planet on November 12, 1980. It flew 124,000 km from the planet's cloud layer, and sent a stream of truly priceless photographs to Earth. They decided to send Voyager 1 to fly around the satellite of Titan, and send his twin brother Voyager 2 to other giant planets. As a result, it turned out that the device, although it transmitted a lot of scientific information, did not see the surface of Titan, since it is opaque to visible light. Therefore, in fact, the ship was donated to please the largest satellite, on which scientists had high hopes, and in the end they saw an orange ball, without any details.

Voyager 2

Shortly after the Voyager 1 flyby, Voyager 2 flew into the Saturn system and performed an almost identical program. It reached the planet on August 26, 1981. In addition to the fact that he orbited the planet at a distance of 100 800 km, he flew close to Enceladus, Tethys, Hyperion, Iapetus, Phoebe and a number of other moons. Voyager 2, having received gravitational acceleration from the planet, headed towards Uranus (successful flyby in 1986) and Neptune (successful flyby in 1989), after which he continued his journey to the borders of the solar system.

Cassini-Huygens

Views of Saturn from the Cassini apparatus

NASA's Cassini-Huygens probe, which arrived at the planet in 2004, was able to truly study the planet from a constant orbit. As part of its mission, the spacecraft delivered the Huygens probe to the surface of Titan.

TOP 10 Cassini images

Cassini has now completed his main mission and has continued to study the Saturn system and its moons for many years. Among his discoveries are the discovery of geysers on Enceladus, seas and lakes of hydrocarbons on Titan, new rings and satellites, as well as data and photographs from the surface of Titan. Scientists plan to complete the Cassini mission in 2017, due to cuts in NASA's planetary exploration budget.

Future missions

The next Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) should be expected no earlier than 2020, but rather much later. Using gravitational maneuvers near Earth and Venus, this device will be able to reach Saturn in about 2029.

A four-year flight plan is envisaged, in which 2 years are allotted for the study of the planet itself, 2 months for the study of the surface of Titan, in which the lander will be involved, and 20 months for the study of the satellite from orbit. In this truly ambitious project, Russia may also take part. The future participation of the federal agency Roscosmos is already being discussed. While this mission is far from being realized, we still have the opportunity to enjoy the fantastic pictures of Cassini, which he sends regularly and which everyone has access to, just a few days after their transmission to Earth. Enjoy your exploration of Saturn!

Answers to the most common questions

1. After whom was the planet Saturn named? In honor of the Roman god of fertility.
2. When was Saturn discovered? It has been known since ancient times, and it is impossible to establish who first determined that this is a planet.
3. How far is Saturn from the Sun? The average distance from the Sun is 1.43 billion km, or 9.58 AU.
4. How to find it in the sky? It is best to use search charts and specialized software such as Stellarium.
5. What are the coordinates of the placenta? Since this is a planet, its coordinates change, you can find out the ephemeris of Saturn on specialized astronomical resources.

The planet Saturn is one of the most famous and interesting planets in the solar system. Everyone knows about Saturn with its rings, even those who have not heard anything about existence, for example, or Neptune.

Perhaps, in many ways, he got such fame thanks to astrology, however, in a purely scientific sense, this planet is of great interest. And astronomers - amateurs love to observe this beautiful planet, because of the ease of observation and a beautiful sight.

A planet as unusual and large as Saturn, of course, has some unusual properties. With many satellites and huge rings, Saturn forms a miniature solar system, in which there are many interesting things. Here are some interesting facts about Saturn:

• Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, and the last known since ancient times. The next one after him was discovered already with the help of a telescope, and even with the help of calculations.
• Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. It is also a gas giant with no solid surface.
• The average density of Saturn is less than the density of water, moreover, half. In a huge pool, he would float almost like foam.
• The planet Saturn has an inclination to the orbital plane, so the seasons change on it, each lasting 7 years.
• Saturn currently has 62 satellites, but this number is not final. Perhaps others will be discovered. Only Jupiter has more satellites. Update: On October 7, 2019, it was reported that 20 more new satellites were discovered and now Saturn has 82 of them, 3 more than Jupiter. Saturn holds the record for the number of satellites.
• - the second largest in the solar system, after Ganymede, a satellite. It is 50% larger than the Moon and even slightly larger than Mercury.
• On the moon of Saturn, Enceladus, the existence of an subglacial ocean is possible. It is possible that some kind of organic life could also be found there.
• Saturn's shape is not spherical. It rotates very quickly - a day lasts less than 11 hours, therefore it has a flattened shape at the poles.
• The planet Saturn emits more energy than it receives from the Sun, like Jupiter.
• The wind speed on Saturn can reach 1800 m / s - this is more than the speed of sound.
• The planet Saturn has no solid surface. With depth, gas - mainly hydrogen and helium - simply condenses until it turns into a liquid, and then into a metallic state.
• There is a strange hexagonal formation at the poles of Saturn.
• There are auroras on Saturn.
• Saturn's magnetic field is one of the most powerful in the solar system, extending a million kilometers from the planet. There are powerful radiation belts near the planet, which are dangerous for the electronics of space probes.
• A year on Saturn lasts 29.5 years. For so much, the planet makes a revolution around the Sun.

Of course, these are not all interesting facts about Saturn - this world is too diverse and complex.

Characteristics of the planet Saturn

In the wonderful film "Saturn - Lord of the Rings", which you can watch, the announcer says - if there is a planet that conveys the splendor, mystery and horror of the Universe, then this is Saturn. It really is.

Saturn is magnificent - it is a giant, framed by huge rings. It is mysterious - many of the processes that take place there are still incomprehensible. And it is terrible, because on Saturn terrible things in our understanding occur - winds up to 1800 m / s, thunderstorms hundreds and thousands of times stronger than ours, helium rains, and much more.

Saturn is a giant planet, the second largest after Jupiter. The diameter of the planet is 120 thousand kilometers against 143 thousand cu. It is 9.4 times larger than Earth, and could accommodate 763 such planets as ours.

However, at large sizes, Saturn is quite light - its density is less than that of water, because most of this huge ball is light hydrogen and helium. If Saturn is placed in a huge pool, then he will not drown, but will float! The density of Saturn is 8 times less than that of the Earth. The second planet after him in density is.

Comparative sizes of planets

Despite its enormous size, the gravity on Saturn is only 91% of the earth, although its total mass is 95 times greater than that of the Earth. If we were there, we would not see much difference in the force of attraction, of course, if we discard other factors that would simply kill us.

Saturn, despite its gigantic size, rotates around its axis much faster than the Earth - a day there lasts from 10 hours 39 minutes to 10 hours 46 minutes. This difference is explained by the fact that the upper layers of Saturn are predominantly gaseous, so it rotates at different latitudes at different speeds.

The year on Saturn lasts 29.7 years. Since the planet has an axis tilt, then, like ours, there is a change of seasons, which generates a large number of strongest hurricanes in the atmosphere. The distance from the Sun changes due to a slightly elongated orbit, and averages 9.58 AU.

Moons of Saturn

To date, Saturn has 82 satellites of various sizes. This is more than any other planet, and even 3 more than Jupiter. Moreover, 40% of all satellites in the solar system revolve around Saturn. On October 7, 2019, a group of scientists announced the discovery of 20 new satellites at once, which made Saturn the record holder. Before that, 62 satellites were known.

One of the largest (second after Ganymede) satellite of the solar system revolves around Saturn. It is almost twice the size of the Moon, and even larger than Mercury, but smaller. Titan is the second and only satellite with its own atmosphere of nitrogen with admixtures of methane and other gases. Atmospheric pressure on the surface is one and a half times greater than that of the earth, although the force of gravity there is only 1/7 of that of the earth.

Titanium is the largest source of hydrocarbons. There are literally lakes and rivers of liquid methane and ethane. In addition, there are cryogeysers, and in general, Titan is in many ways similar to Earth in its early stages of existence. Perhaps it will be possible to find primitive forms of life there. It is also the only satellite to which the lander was sent - it was Huygens, which landed there on January 14, 2005.

Such views on Titan, the moon of Saturn.

Enceladus is the sixth largest satellite of Saturn, with a diameter of about 500 km, which is of particular interest for research. It is one of the three satellites with active volcanic activity (the other two are Triton). There are a large number of cryogeysers that throw water to great heights. Perhaps the tidal effect of Saturn creates enough energy in the bowels of the satellite for liquid water to exist there.

Geysers of Enceladus captured by the Cassini apparatus.

A subsurface ocean is also possible on the moons of Jupiter and Ganymede. Enceladus' orbit is in the F ring, and the water escaping from it feeds this ring.

Also, Saturn has several other large satellites - Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys. They were among the first to be discovered, due to their size and visibility with rather weak telescopes. Each of these satellites represents its own unique world.

The famous rings of Saturn

The rings of Saturn are his "calling card", and it is thanks to them that this planet is so famous. It is difficult to imagine Saturn without rings - it would be just a nondescript whitish ball.

Which planet has rings like Saturn's? There are no such in our system, although other gas giants also have rings - Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune. But there they are very thin, rarefied, and cannot be seen from the Earth. Saturn's rings are clearly visible even with a weak telescope.

The rings were first discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610 in his homemade telescope. However, he saw different rings that we see. For him, they looked like two incomprehensible rounded balls on the sides of the planet - the image quality in the 20x Galileo telescope was so-so, so he decided that he was seeing two large satellites. After 2 years, he again observed Saturn, but did not find these formations, and was greatly puzzled.

The diameter of the ring in different sources indicates a little different - about 280 thousand kilometers. The ring itself is not at all solid, but consists of smaller rings of different widths, separated by intervals of different widths - tens and hundreds of kilometers. All rings are designated by letters, and the spaces are called slots, and have names. The largest gap is between rings A and B, and is called the Cassini Slit - it can be seen with an amateur telescope, and the width of this gap is 4700 km.

Saturn's rings are not at all solid, as it seems at first glance. This is not one single disk, but many small particles that rotate in their orbits at the level of the planet's equator. The size of these particles is very different - from the smallest dust to stones and lumps of several tens of meters. Their predominant composition is ordinary water ice. Since the ice has a large albedo - reflective ability, the rings are clearly visible, although their thickness is only about a kilometer in the "thickest" place.

As Saturn and the Earth revolve around the Sun, we can see how the rings open more and more, then completely disappear - the period of this phenomenon is 7 years. This happens due to the tilt of the axis of Saturn, and hence the rings, which are located strictly along the equator.

By the way, this is why Galileo could not find the ring of Saturn in 1612. It's just that at that moment it was located "edge" to the Earth, and with a thickness of only a kilometer, it is simply impossible to see it from such a distance.

The origin of Saturn's rings is still unknown. There are several theories:

1. The rings were formed at the birth of the planet itself, it is like a building material that was never used.
2. At some point, a large body approached Saturn, which was destroyed, and rings were formed from its fragments.
3. Once upon a time, several large satellites, like Titan, revolved around Saturn. Over time, their orbit turned into a spiral, bringing them closer to the planet and imminent death. As they approached, the satellites collapsed, creating a lot of debris. These debris remained in orbit, colliding and crushing more and more, and over time they formed the rings that we see now.

Further research will show which version of events is correct. However, it is clear that the rings of Saturn are temporary. After some time, the planet will absorb all their material - the debris leaves orbit and falls on it. If the rings are not fed with material, then over time they will become smaller until they disappear completely. Of course, this will not happen in one million years.

Observing Saturn through a telescope

Saturn in the sky looks like a rather bright star in the south, and you can observe it even in a small one. It is especially good to do this in oppositions, which happen once a year - the planet looks like a star of magnitude 0, and has an angular size of 18 ”. List of upcoming confrontations:

• June 15, 2017.
• June 27, 2018.
• July 9, 2019.
• July 20, 2020.

These days, Saturn is even brighter than Jupiter, although it is much further away. This is explained by the fact that the rings also reflect a lot of light, so the total reflection area is much larger.

You can even see the rings of Saturn through binoculars, although you have to try to distinguish them. But in a 60-70 mm telescope, you can already quite well see both the disk of the planet and rings, and the shadow on them from the planet. Of course, it is unlikely that any details can be considered, although with good disclosure of the rings, you can notice the Cassini gap.

One of the amateur photographs of Saturn (150 mm reflector Synta BK P150750)

To see some details on the planet's disk, a telescope with an aperture of 100 mm or more is required, and for serious observations - at least 200 mm. In such a telescope, one can see not only cloud belts and spots on the planet's disk, but also details in the structure of the rings.

Of the satellites, the brightest are Titan and Rhea, they can be seen already with 8x binoculars, although a 60-70 mm telescope is better. The rest of the large satellites are not so bright - from 9.5 to 11 stars. in. and weaker. To observe them, you will need a telescope with an aperture of 90 mm or more.

In addition to the telescope, it is advisable to have a set of color filters that will help you better highlight different details. For example, dark yellow and orange filters help you see more detail in the belts of the planet, green highlights more detail at the poles, and blue highlights more detail on the rings.

The planets of the solar system

Known since ancient times - Saturn - is the sixth planet in our solar system, famous for its rings. It is part of four gas giant planets such as Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Its size (diameter \u003d 120 536 km), it is second only to Jupiter and is the second largest in the entire solar system. It was named after the ancient Roman god Saturn, who among the Greeks was called Kronos (titan and the father of Zeus himself).

The planet itself, together with the rings, can be seen from Earth, even with an ordinary small telescope. A day on Saturn is 10 hours 15 minutes, and the period of rotation around the Sun is almost 30 years!
Saturn is a unique planet because its density is 0.69 g / cm³, which is less than the density of water 0.99 g / cm³. An interesting pattern follows from this: if it were possible to immerse the planet in a huge ocean or pool, then Saturn could stay on the water and swim in it.

The structure of Saturn

The structure of Saturn and Jupiter have many similarities, both in composition and in basic characteristics, but their appearance is quite noticeably different. Jupiter has bright tones, while Saturn, they are noticeably muted. Due to the smaller number of cloud-like formations in the lower layers, the stripes on Saturn are less noticeable. Another similarity with the fifth planet: Saturn emits more heat than it receives from the Sun.
Saturn's atmosphere is almost entirely composed of 96% hydrogen (H2), 3% helium (He). Less than 1% is methane, ammonia, ethane and other elements. The percentage of methane, although it is insignificant in the atmosphere of Saturn, this does not prevent it from taking an active part in the absorption of solar radiation.
In the upper layers, the minimum temperature is recorded, –189 ° C, but when immersed in the atmosphere, it increases significantly. At a depth of about 30 thousand km, hydrogen changes and becomes metallic. It is liquid metallic hydrogen that creates a magnetic field of enormous power. The core in the center of the planet turns out to be stone-iron.
When studying gaseous planets, scientists faced a problem. After all, there is no clear boundary between the atmosphere and the surface. The problem was solved in the following way: they take the "zero" point for a certain zero height, at which the temperature begins to count in the opposite direction. In fact, this is the case on Earth.

Imagining Saturn, any person immediately envisions his unique and amazing rings. Studies carried out with the help of AMS (automatic interplanetary stations) showed that 4 gaseous giant planets have their own rings, but only Saturn have such good visibility and effectiveness. There are three main rings of Saturn, named, rather uncomplicated: A, B, C. The fourth ring is much thinner and less noticeable. As it turned out, Saturn's rings are not one solid body, but billions of small celestial bodies (pieces of ice), ranging in size from a speck of dust to several meters. They move at approximately the same speed (about 10 km / s) around the equatorial part of the planet, sometimes colliding with each other.

Photos from the AMC showed that all visible rings are composed of thousands of small rings, alternating with empty, unfilled space. For clarity, you can imagine an ordinary disc from Soviet times.
The unique shape of the rings at all times did not give rest to either scientists or ordinary observers. They all tried to find out their structure and understand how and as a result of which they were formed. At different times, various hypotheses and assumptions were put forward, for example, that they formed together with the planet. Scientists are currently leaning towards the meteorite origin of the rings. This theory also received observational confirmation, since the rings of Saturn are periodically updated and are not something stable.

Moons of Saturn

Now Saturn has about 63 satellites open. The overwhelming majority of satellites are turned to the planet by the same side and rotate synchronously.

Christian Huygens, was honored to discover the second largest satellite, after Ganimer, in the entire solar system. It is larger than Mercury in size, and its diameter is 5155 km. Titan's atmosphere is red-orange: 87% is nitrogen, 11% is argon, 2% is methane. Naturally, methane rains take place there, and on the surface there should be seas, which include methane. However, the Voyager 1 apparatus, which explored Titan, could not see its surface through such a dense atmosphere.
The satellite Enceladus is the lightest solar body in the entire solar system. It reflects over 99% of sunlight due to its almost white surface of water ice. Its albedo (characteristic of the reflective surface) is greater than 1.
Also of the more famous and most studied satellites, it is worth noting "Mimas", "Tefeya" and "Diona".

Characteristics of Saturn

Mass: 5.69 * 1026 kg (95 times the Earth)
Diameter at equator: 120,536 km (9.5 times the size of Earth)
Pole diameter: 108,728 km
Axis tilt: 26.7 °
Density: 0.69 g / cm³
Top layer temperature: about –189 ° C
The period of revolution around its own axis (length of the day): 10 hours 15 minutes
Distance from Sun (average): 9.5 AU e. or 1430 million km
Orbital period of the Sun (year): 29.5 years
Orbital speed: 9.7 km / s
Orbital eccentricity: e \u003d 0.055
Orbital inclination to ecliptic: i \u003d 2.5 °
Free fall acceleration: 10.5 m / s²
Satellites: there are 63

\u003e\u003e\u003e Who Discovered Saturn

Who Found Saturn - the sixth planet of the solar system: observations in the sky, the study of Galileo and Huygens, the detection of rings and satellites, the launch of vehicles.

Saturn is one of the five planets in the solar system that can be found with the naked eye without using a telescope. But for a simple observer, a specific celestial body will seem like a familiar bright star, which was observed by the ancients. So it is difficult to name the person who is responsible for the very fact of the discovery. That is, we will never know who first found Saturn in the sky. But the planet got its name from the Romans in honor of the god of the harvest.

The first observation with a telescope was made by Galileo Galilei in 1610. But his device was imperfect, so the protrusions found seemed to be something incomprehensible. Moreover, after a few years, he again looked at the planet, and the formations were no longer nearby.

In 1659, Christian Huygens looked at Saturn. His telescope was much better, so he realized that he could see not only the planet, but also a large system of rings. Also spotted the satellite Titan.

Giovanni Cassini made out the moons of Saturn Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys and Dione. More information came from space missions. The first photos of Saturn arrived with Pioneer 11 in 1979. He swept over a distance of 21,000 km. The rest of the data was sent by Voyagers and the main mission - Cassini in 2006.

The starry sky has always attracted romantics, poets, artists and lovers with its beauty. Since time immemorial, people have admired the scattering of stars and attributed special magical properties to them.

Ancient astrologers, for example, were able to draw a parallel between the date of birth of a person and the star shining brightly at that moment. It was believed that it can influence not only the totality of the character traits of the newborn, but also his entire future fate. Stargazing helped farmers determine the best dates for planting and harvesting. We can say that much in the life of ancient people was subordinated to the influence of stars and planets, so it is not surprising that mankind has been trying for centuries to study the planets closest to Earth.

Many of them are currently fairly well studied, but some can present scientists with a lot of surprises. Astronomers include Saturn among such planets. A description of this gas giant can be found in any astronomy textbook. However, scientists themselves believe that this is one of the least studied planets, all the riddles and secrets of which humanity is not even able to list.

Today you will receive the most detailed information about Saturn. The mass of the gas giant, its size, description and comparative characteristics with the Earth - you can learn all this from this article. Perhaps you will hear some facts for the first time, but something will seem simply incredible to you.

The Ancients' Views of Saturn

Our ancestors could not accurately calculate the mass of Saturn and give it a characteristic, but they definitely understood how majestic this planet is and even worshiped it. Historians believe that Saturn, which belongs to one of the five planets, perfectly distinguishable from Earth with the naked eye, was known to people for a very long time. It got its name in honor of the god of fertility and agriculture. This deity was highly revered among the Greeks and Romans, but later the attitude towards him slightly changed.

The fact is that the Greeks began to associate Saturn with Kronos. This titan was very bloodthirsty and even devoured his own children. Therefore, he was treated without due respect and with some fear. But the Romans revered Saturn very much and even considered him to be a god who gave mankind many of the knowledge necessary for life. It was the god of agriculture who taught ignorant people to build living quarters and preserve the grown crop until next year. In gratitude to Saturn, the Romans organized real holidays lasting several days. During this period, even slaves could forget about their insignificant position and fully feel themselves as free people.

It is noteworthy that in many ancient cultures, Saturn, the characteristics of which scientists were able to give only millennia later, was associated with strong deities who confidently control the fate of people in many worlds. Modern historians often think that ancient civilizations might have known much more about this giant planet than we do today. Perhaps they had access to other knowledge and we only have to, discarding dry statistics, penetrate the secrets of Saturn.

Brief description of the planet

It is rather difficult to tell in a few words which planet Saturn really is. Therefore, in the current section, we will provide the reader with well-known data that will help to get some idea of \u200b\u200bthis amazing celestial body.

Saturn is the sixth planet in our home solar system. Since it mainly consists of gases, it is classified as a gas giant. It is customary to call Jupiter the closest "relative" of Saturn, but besides him, Uranus and Neptune can be added to this group. It is noteworthy that all gas planets can be proud of their rings, but only Saturn has them in such an amount that it allows you to see its majestic "belt" even from Earth. Modern astronomers rightfully consider it the most beautiful and mesmerizing planet. After all, the rings of Saturn (what this splendor consists of, we will tell in one of the following sections of the article) almost constantly change their color and each time their photo surprises with new shades. Therefore, the gas giant is one of the most recognizable among the rest of the planets.

The mass of Saturn (5.68 × 10 26 kg) is extremely large compared to the Earth, we will talk about this a little later. But the diameter of the planet, which, according to the latest data, is more than one hundred and twenty thousand kilometers, confidently takes it to second place in the solar system. Only Jupiter, the leader in this list, can argue with Saturn.

The gas giant has its own atmosphere, magnetic fields and a huge number of satellites, which were gradually discovered by astronomers. Interestingly, the planet's density is noticeably less than the density of water. Therefore, if your imagination allows you to imagine a huge pool filled with water, then you can be sure that Saturn will not drown in it. Like a huge inflatable ball, it will glide slowly over the surface.

The origin of the gas giant

Despite the fact that the research of Saturn by spacecraft has been actively carried out over the past decades, scientists still cannot say with certainty how exactly the planet was formed. To date, two main hypotheses have been put forward, which have their followers and opponents.

The Sun and Saturn are often compared in composition. Indeed, they contain a large concentration of hydrogen, which allowed some scientists to put forward a hypothesis that our star and the planets of the solar system were formed at almost the same time. Massive gas clusters became the ancestors of Saturn and the Sun. However, none of the supporters of this theory can explain why a planet was formed from the source material, if I may say so, in one case, and a star in the other. The differences in their composition, too, no one can give a decent explanation.

According to the second hypothesis, the formation of Saturn lasted hundreds of millions of years. Initially, solid particles were formed, which gradually reached the mass of our Earth. However, at some point, the planet lost a large amount of gas and at the second stage, it was actively increasing it from outer space by means of gravity.

Scientists hope that in the future they will be able to discover the secret of the formation of Saturn, but before that they still have many decades of waiting. After all, only the Cassini spacecraft, which had been working in its orbit for thirteen long years, managed to get as close to the planet as possible. In the fall of this year, he completed his mission, collecting a huge amount of data for observers that has yet to be processed.

Planet orbit

Saturn and the Sun are separated by almost one and a half billion kilometers, so the planet does not get so much light and heat from our main luminary. It is noteworthy that the gas giant revolves around the Sun in a slightly elongated orbit. However, in recent years, scientists have argued that almost all planets do this. Saturn makes a complete revolution in almost thirty years.

Around its axis, the planet spins extremely quickly, it takes about ten Earth hours per revolution. If we lived on Saturn, then that is how long the day would last. Interestingly, scientists tried to calculate the complete rotation of the planet around its axis several times. During this time, an error of about six minutes arose; in the framework of science, it is considered quite impressive. Some scientists associate it with the inaccuracy of instruments, but others argue that over the years, our native Earth began to rotate more slowly, which allowed errors to form.

Planet structure

Since the size of Saturn is often compared to Jupiter, it is not surprising that the structures of these planets are very similar to each other. Scientists conventionally divide the gas giant into three layers, the center of which is a rocky core. It has a high density and is at least ten times more massive than the earth's core. The second layer where it is located is liquid metallic hydrogen. Its thickness is approximately fourteen and a half thousand kilometers. The outer layer of the planet is molecular hydrogen, the thickness of this layer is measured at eighteen and a half thousand kilometers.

Scientists, studying the planet, found out one interesting fact - it emits into outer space two and a half times more radiation than it receives from the sun. They tried to find a definite explanation for this phenomenon, drawing a parallel with Jupiter. However, until now it remains another mystery of the planet, because the size of Saturn is smaller than its "brother", which emits much more modest amounts of radiation into the surrounding world. Therefore, today such activity of the planet is explained by the friction of helium flows. But how viable this theory is, scientists cannot say.

Planet Saturn: composition of the atmosphere

If you observe the planet through a telescope, it becomes noticeable that the color of Saturn has a slightly muted pale orange shades. On its surface, stripe-like formations can be noted, which often form into bizarre shapes. However, they are not static and quickly transform.

When we talk about gaseous planets, it is quite difficult for the reader to understand how exactly it is possible to determine the difference between the conditional surface and the atmosphere. Scientists also faced a similar problem, so it was decided to determine a certain starting point. It is in it that the temperature begins to drop, here astronomers draw an invisible border.

Saturn's atmosphere is nearly ninety-six percent hydrogen. Of the constituent gases, I would also like to name helium, it is present in the amount of three percent. The remaining one percent is divided among themselves by ammonia, methane and other substances. For all living organisms known to us, the atmosphere of the planet is destructive.

The thickness of the atmospheric layer is close to sixty kilometers. Surprisingly, Saturn, like Jupiter, is often referred to as "the planet of storms." Of course, by the standards of Jupiter, they are insignificant. But for earthlings, a wind of almost two thousand kilometers per hour will seem like the real end of the world. Similar storms occur on Saturn quite often, sometimes scientists notice formations in the atmosphere that resemble our hurricanes. In a telescope, they look like vast white spots, and hurricanes are extremely rare. Therefore, observing them is considered a great success for astronomers.

Rings of Saturn

The color of Saturn and its rings is approximately the same, although this "belt" gives scientists a huge number of problems that they are not yet able to solve. It is especially difficult to answer questions about the origin and age of this splendor. To date, the scientific community has put forward several hypotheses on this topic, which no one can yet prove or disprove.

First of all, many young astronomers are interested in what the rings of Saturn are made of. Scientists can answer this question quite accurately. The structure of the rings is very heterogeneous, it is represented by billions of particles that move at a tremendous speed. The diameter of these particles ranges from one centimeter to ten meters. They are ninety-eight percent ice. The remaining two percent are represented by various impurities.

Despite the impressive picture that the rings of Saturn represent, they are very thin. Their thickness on average does not even reach a kilometer, while their diameter reaches two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers.

For simplicity, the rings of the planet are usually called one of the letters of the Latin alphabet, the most noticeable are three rings. But the second is considered to be the brightest and most beautiful.

Ring formation: theories and hypotheses

Since ancient times, people have puzzled over how exactly Saturn's rings were formed. Initially, the theory was put forward about the simultaneous formation of the planet and its rings. However, later this version was refuted, because scientists were struck by the purity of the ice, which make up the "belt" of Saturn. If the rings were of the same age with the planet, then their particles would be covered with a layer that can be compared to dirt. Since this did not happen, the scientific community had to look for other explanations.

The theory of an exploded moon of Saturn is considered traditional. According to this statement, about four billion years ago, one of the planet's satellites came too close to it. According to scientists, its diameter could reach three hundred kilometers. It was torn apart by the tidal force into billions of particles that formed the rings of Saturn. A version of the collision of two satellites is also being considered. This theory seems to be the most plausible, but the latest data make it possible to determine the age of the rings as one hundred million years.

Surprisingly, the particles of the rings constantly collide with each other, form into new formations, and thus complicate their study. Modern scientists cannot yet reveal the secret of the formation of the "belt" of Saturn, which has added to the list of mysteries of this planet.

Moons of saturn

The gas giant has a huge number of satellites. Forty percent of all known systems revolve around it. To date, sixty-three moons of Saturn have been discovered, and many of them present no less surprises than the planet itself.

The size of the satellites ranges from three hundred kilometers to more than five thousand kilometers in diameter. The easiest way for astronomers was to discover large moons, most of them could be described in the late eighties of the eighteenth century. It was then that Titan, Rhea, Enceladus and Iapetus were discovered. These moons are still of great interest to scientists and are closely studied by them.

Interestingly, all of Saturn's moons are very different from each other. They are united by the fact that they are always turned to the planet with only one side and rotate almost synchronously. Of greatest interest to astronomers are the three moons:

• Titanium.
• Enceladus.

Titan is the second largest in the solar system. It is not surprising that it is second only to one of the satellites of Titan, and is half that of the Moon, and its size is comparable to Mercury and even exceeds it. Interestingly, the composition of this giant moon of Saturn contributed to the formation of the atmosphere. In addition, there is liquid on it, which puts Titan on a par with the Earth. Some scientists even speculate that there may be some form of life on the satellite's surface. Of course, it will be significantly different from Earth's, because Titan's atmosphere consists of nitrogen, methane and ethane, and on its surface you can see lakes of methane and islands with a bizarre relief formed by liquid nitrogen.

Enceladus is an equally amazing satellite of Saturn. Scientists call it the lightest celestial body in the solar system because of its surface completely covered with an ice crust. Scientists are sure that under this layer of ice there is a real ocean, in which living organisms may well exist.

Rhea has recently surprised astronomers. After numerous photographs, they were able to make out several thin rings around her. It's too early to talk about their composition and size, but this discovery was shocking, because it was not even assumed earlier that rings could revolve around the satellite.

Saturn and Earth: Comparative Analysis of the Two Planets

Comparison of Saturn and Earth, scientists do not often. These celestial bodies are too different to compare them with each other. But today we decided to slightly broaden the horizons of the reader and still look at these planets with a fresh look. Is there something in common between them?

First of all, it comes to mind to compare the mass of Saturn and the Earth, this difference will be incredible: the gas giant is ninety-five times larger than our planet. It is nine and a half times the size of Earth. Therefore, in its volume, our planet can fit more than seven hundred times.

Interestingly, the gravity on Saturn will be ninety-two percent of Earth's gravity. If we assume that a person weighing one hundred kilograms is transferred to Saturn, then his weight will decrease to ninety-two kilograms.

Every student knows that the earth's axis has a certain angle of inclination relative to the sun. This allows the seasons to replace each other, and people enjoy all the beauties of nature. Surprisingly, Saturn's axis has a similar tilt. Therefore, on the planet, you can also observe the change of seasons. However, they do not have a pronounced character and it is rather difficult to trace them.

Like the Earth, Saturn has its own magnetic field, and recently scientists have witnessed a real aurora, spreading over the conditional surface of the planet. It pleased with the duration of the glow and bright purple hues.

Even from our small comparative analysis, it is clear that both planets, despite the incredible differences, have something that unites them. Perhaps this makes scientists constantly turn their gaze towards Saturn. However, some of them laughingly say that if there was an opportunity to look at both planets side by side, the Earth would look like a coin, and Saturn would look like an inflated basketball.

Exploring the gas giant Saturn is a process that has puzzled scientists around the world. More than once they sent probes and various devices to him. Since the last mission was completed this year, the next one is only planned for 2020. However, now no one can say whether it will take place. For several years now, negotiations have been underway on Russia's participation in this large-scale project. According to preliminary calculations, the new spacecraft will take about nine years to enter Saturn's orbit, and another four years to study the planet and its largest satellite. Based on the foregoing, one can be sure that revealing all the secrets of the planet of storms is a matter of the future. Perhaps you, our today's readers, will also take part in this.