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Saturn

Saturn. The most distant planet known to the ancients is NASA’s latest target for exploration. Cassini image, October 6, 2002. Saturn Facts Average orbital distance 9.54 A.U. Orbital period 29.42 yr Diameter 120,536 km (Earth =12,756) Rotation period 0.44 days

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Saturn

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  1. Saturn The most distant planet known to the ancients is NASA’s latest target for exploration.

  2. Cassini image, October 6, 2002

  3. Saturn Facts Average orbital distance 9.54 A.U. Orbital period 29.42 yr Diameter 120,536 km (Earth =12,756) Rotation period 0.44 days Mass 568e24 kg Average Density 0.687 g/cc (water = 1.0) Obliquity 26.73 degrees Surface None – we see cloud tops Composition 89.7% H, 9.9% He, 0.8% H2O by volume With some methane and ammonia And traces of acetylene, ethylene, etc Satellites 18 Inner, >33 total NASA Exploration Pioneer 11, launched 1973 Voyager 1, Voyager 2, launched 1977 Cassini/Huygens, launched 1997

  4. Titan Rhea Enceladus Mimas Tethys Dione

  5. Notes on satellite dynamics Moons are 1:1 spin-orbit coupled (and so have leading, trailing sides) Mimas:Tethys 2:1 resonance Enceladus:Dione 2:1 Titan:Hyperion 4:3 Dione has leading Trojan: Helene Tethys has Trojans Telesto and Calypso Janus and Epimethus 1:1 horseshoe resonance “Cassini division” is a Mimas resonance A-ring structures caused by Pandora, Prometheus, and Janus Pan causes Encke gap in A ring

  6. Rings of Saturn

  7. Inferred Ring Particle Size Distribution

  8. F-ring, Pandora, Prometheus (Voyager 2)

  9. Voyager 2: discovery image of satellite Pan

  10. Cassini, Huygens probe, and Launch vehicle adapter

  11. Cassini/Huygens key dates June 11, 2004 – Flyby of Phoebe July 1, 2004 – Crossing of ring plane during Saturn-orbit insertion sequence Dec 25, 2004 – Huygens probe separates Jan 14, 2005 – Huygens begins its descent into Titan’s atmosphere

  12. Jean Dominique Cassini Saw “Cassini Division”, and satellites Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, and Dione

  13. Christiaan Huygens Discovered Titan Proposed flat ring system

  14. Pandora, F-ring, Prometheus, Cassini orbiter

  15. Enceladus: Ice geysers supply material for E ring?

  16. Izanagi and Izanami craters on Rhea

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