By: Sydney Fitzsimmons Saturn By: Sydney Fitzsimmons

What is Saturn? Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system It’s rings are made of chunks of ice and rock Saturn is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium Saturn has 53 confirmed and 9 provincial moons Fifth in our solar system 36,184 mi long

Characteristics of Saturn Saturn can be seen by the naked eye Flattest planet in the Solar System Orbits the sun once every 29.4 Earth years Upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds Oval shaped storms (similar to Jupiter)

Saturn’s Rings Galileo was the first person to see Saturn’s rings in 1610 Rings are made up of ice and rock Some pieces vary in sizes; grain of sand - house Unsure on how the rings originated Could be broken pieces of it’s moons Far away, looks like there’s 7 rings Some close together, some having gaps between them Rings circle around at v high speeds Every ring is named alphabetically by when they were discovered

Saturn’s Appearance Center is rock, water, ice, and other compound elements Enveloped by liquid metallic hydrogen No true surface Swirly gases Less dense than water Blanketed with clouds, storms and striped Tan/light color bc yellow ammonia crystals in upper atmosphere

Saturn’s Atmosphere 75% hydrogen 25% helium Other traces of methane, water and ice Windiest planet in the solar system 1800 km/h at the equator Violent white storms appear, each bigger than Earth itself

Place in the Solar System 888.2 million miles from the Sun Outer planet A day for saturn is 10 hours and 39 minutes

Saturn’s Rotation Different parts of the planet rotate at different speeds Visible features rotate at different rates depending on their latitude Measured Saturn’s magnetic field by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2004 System I rotation speed is 10 hours and 14 minutes. Above and below the Equatorial Belt is called System II. Here the rotation speed is 10 hours and 39 minutes. Rotates West to East Counterclockwise

Discovery of Saturn First observation was through a microscope by Galileo in 1610 Bad telescope; could not see or determine rings Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens observed saturn in 1659 “Arms” of saturn; system of rings First to discover Saturn’s moon, Titan

Top Facts about Saturn Least dense planet in the solar system “Flattened ball” Only been visited by 4 spacecrafts Total of 64 moons Saturn’s rings could be old and young Rings often disappear Saturn is visible to the naked eye There’s a possibility for life on one of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus Saturn could float in water Saturn was named after “Saturday”

Works Cited http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn http://space-facts.com/saturn/ https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/ring-a-round-the-saturn.html http://www.universetoday.com/15418/interesting-facts-about-saturn/ http://www.space.com/18479-how-big-is-saturn.html