Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun after Jupiter, Saturn also known as the second largest planet of our solar system. Saturn as a planet is famous for its rings. As a gas planet, it is made by most of the gas molecules of hydrogen and helium.
Saturn orbits at the far distance of about 886 million miles (1.4 billion km) from the sun
Studies disclosed that Saturn takes approx. 10.7 hours to rotate on its axis and take 29 years for completing one orbit of the sun.
Like Jupiter (Jupiter: A Giant Gas Planet), Saturn is also a gas giant, it doesn’t have a soil surface like on the earth.
Saturn has discovered 53 known natural moons with an additional more than 20 moons are awaiting for the confirmation.
As we are aware that Saturn has no chance for the development of life but its moons have conditions that might support life.
The Radius of Saturn is near about 36,183 miles (58,232 km). it is ninth time wider than earth in size. 9.5 astronomical units (A astronomical unit is known as the distance from the sun to earth) away from the sun.
If we see Saturn from a cultural perspective it is named for the Roman god of agriculture and wealth, who was also the father of Jupiter, In Indian, it is named for the son of the sun and a god of justice also known as Shani Graha.
The sun lights take approx. 80 minutes to reach from the sun to Saturn.
The axis of Saturn is by 26.73 degrees with respect to its orbit to the sun, similar to earth’s 23.5 degrees tilt. Scientist assumes that like earth and Saturn have same experiences seasons
The core of Saturn is made by metals like iron and nickel which is surrounded by rock material.
One of the very interesting facts about Saturn is that it is the only planet in our solar system whose average density is less than water.
The magnetic field is smaller than Jupiter’s. its magnetic field is 578 times powerful as Earth’s.
The phenomenon of Aurorae occurs when the charged particles spiral into Saturn’s atmosphere along its magnetic field lines. It is made by the solar winds and caused by a combination of particles ejected from Saturn’s moon and its magnetic fields.
Moons of Saturn
At till Saturn has discovered 82 moons in which 53 are confirmed and 29 are waiting for the confirmation of discovery and official naming.
The Enceladus as a moon of Saturn was discovered by the British astronomer named William Herschel who watched Enceladus orbiting Around Saturn on the 28th of August in 1789.
Basically, the name of Enceladus is named after the giant Enceladus of Greek mythology.
In 2005, spacecraft named Cassini discovered the ice water particles and the gas gush on the moon’s surface at approx. 800 miles per hour.
The Enceladus part showed craters near about 22 miles in diameter, while the southern pole of the Enceladus is impact-free of creates.
Enceladus orbits Saturn at a distance of 148,000 miles (238,00km). Enceladus completes its one orbit every 32.9 hours within the densest part of Saturn’s rings.
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Our solar system has discovered more than 100 moons in which titan is the only one with a substantial atmosphere.
Titan is the only place besides the Earth known to have liquids in form of a river.
Titan as a moon is larger compared with Mercury and the second-largest moon after the Ganymede moon of Jupiter. Ganymede is a little bit larger than Titan (near about 2%).
The atmosphere of the titan is made of nitrogen. It has clouds, rain, rivers, seas, lakes in a form of liquid hydrocarbons like methane and ethane.