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Saturn. By Christian Lundy. How Did Saturn Get Its Name?. Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture, whose Greek counterpart is Cronus, the father of Zeus/Jupiter. When Was Saturn Discovered?. Saturn was discovered by Ancient Civilizations, so no one knows exactly
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Saturn By Christian Lundy
How Did Saturn Get Its Name? Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture, whose Greek counterpart is Cronus, the father of Zeus/Jupiter.
When Was Saturn Discovered? Saturn was discovered by Ancient Civilizations, so no one knows exactly when it was discovered.
Distances • 6th Planet from the Sun • 1,431,000,000 km from • the Sun • 1,281,000,000 km from Earth
Basic Measurements • Surface Gravity- 10.4 m/s^2 • Mass- 568,319,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg, • or 568 Septillion, 319 Sextillion kg • Volume- 827,129,915,150,897 km^3 • Density- 0.687 g/cm^3 • Saturn would float, because its • density is lower than water’s • density, which is exactly 1.
Orbit and Rotation • One year (Revolution) on Saturn is about 29.5 Earth Years • One day (Rotation) on Saturn is about 10.7 Earth Hours
Atmosphere • Very thick • Mainly made up of Hydrogen and Helium
Temperatures • Temperatures usually range from -280⁰ F to 21,000⁰F at its core • Temperature varies depending upon the region, but it is mostly very cold. • This is a very big difference to Earth, because Saturn has a much higher range, although Saturn is much colder, due to the increased distance from the Sun.
Composition • Saturn is a Gas Giant. It is composed of gases, mainly Hydrogen and Helium, with liquid Hydrogen in the center. Among the liquid Hydrogen, there is a dense core of rock, ice, water, and other compounds made solid by intense pressure and heat.
Appearance Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter. It is mostly covered with gas, and it as a very thick atmosphere. It has very prominent rings, the most prominent of all the Gas Giants. It has about 60 moons, some of them inside its rings.
Weather • Very strong winds, going at about 110 m/s, or 246 mph. • Extreme Temperatures, going down to -2800 F • A giant hexagon-shaped cloud formation has been spotted near the north pole. • Gigantic thunderstorms known as Great White Spots occur once every Saturn year, around the northern • hemisphere’s summer solstice.
Rings • There are seven rings, with several gaps and divisions in between them. • Named according to when they were discovered- A Ring, B Ring, C Ring etc.. • Made of rock and ice. • Galileo discovered them in 1610 with his telescope. • The rings are mostly blue, orange, and green.
Moons • About 60 Moons • Largest is Titan, which is larger than Mercury • Titan is the only natural satellite • with a thick atmosphere • Titan may support life • Another moon, Enceladus, is • covered with ice, which may have • running water underneath it *Not to Scale
Water • Most water on Saturn is in the form of Ice • There are small traces of liquid and gas water, but too small an amount to count
What Would Happen If a Human Traveled to Saturn? They would never find solid ground, as Saturn does not have a solid surface. They would keep on sinking through gases until they would be crushed by the intense pressure nearer to the center. So, I do not advise going to Saturn on your next vacation.
Something Special About Saturn • Many of Saturn’s larger moons are rumored to support life. • On Titan, the largest, it is surrounded by a thick atmosphere, and there is evidence of running liquid. • On Enceladus, underneath its covering of ice, scientists suspect that there is water. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon Enceladus, Saturn’s 6th largest moon
Picture Citations • http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041225.html • http://library.thinkquest.org/11839/nsat.htm • www.joebohanon.com • http://www.solarsystemdrive.com/saturn.html • http://classroom.synonym.com/close-rocks-saturns-rings-13152.html • http://www.wallcg.com/sun-solar-system-mars-earth-jupiter-saturn-neptune-mercury-venus-uranus-6582/ • http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=18754 • http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/dimmer-switch.html • http://explanet.info/Chapter10.htm • http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.cfm?SciencePageID=51 • http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data/space/space_exploration/news.php?q=1293654520 • http://easyscienceforkids.com/earth-science/the-solar-system/ • http://lightsinthedark.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/research-reveals-rain-shadows-from-saturns-rings/ • http://www.planetsedu.com/planet/saturn/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon) • http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Enceladus_geysers_mask_the_length_of_Saturn_s_day
Information Citation Buckley, Don. Interactive Science. Vol. Astronomy and Space Science. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2011. Print. Redd, Nola T. "Saturn's Atmosphere: All the Way Down." Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Redd, Nola T. "Saturn's Temperature: One Cool Planet." Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Redd, Nola T. "What Is Saturn Made Of?" Space.com. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. "Solar System Exploration: Home Page." Solar System Exploration: Home Page. NASA, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.