Solar System: Planets: Saturn

Saturn is a Jovian planet, meaning its composition is mainly gas. Basic facts about Saturn:

• Diameter of 120000 km
• Density of about 700 kg/cubic meter
• Average distance from the Sun is 1500 mil. km
• Orbiting time of 29.5 years
• Rotation period of 10 hrs. 39 mins.
• Visible surface cloud bands, but less storms than Jupiter.
• Atmosphere: Hydrogen (73%), Helium (26%), Methane and Ammonium (1%)
• Composition: possibly a solid rocky core, a liquid "metallic" hydrogen layer, gaseous hydrogen layer
• Magnetic field about as strong as that of the Earth, from the metallic hydrogen layer
• Internal heat source
• 7 Rings
• 20 Moons

The largest of the twenty moons is Titan, with a diameter of 5150 km and density of 1890 kg/cubic meter. Its composition is mainly ice and rock. Thick cloudy atmosphere of nitrogen and methane. This is of some interest to people because it has conditions very similar to those of the primitive Earth, and life could be forming there.

The first three rings of Saturn (A, B, C) were discovered by Galileo, however later on the Voyager I and II missions discovered four more rings (D, E, F, G).

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