1. Presentation by: Heather DeRoy
Saturn
Presentation by: Heather DeRoy

2. Basic Facts 6th Planet from the Sun
2nd Largest Planet in the Solar System
7 thin, flat rings
62 Moons

3. Ancient Observations Farthest planet prehistoric astronomers knew
Used in mythology
Planet can be seen by Earth with the naked eye, but the rings cannot

4. Saturn the Name Roman god of agriculture and harvest
Father of Ceres, Jupiter, Pluto, and Neptune
Ruled during the Golden Age of Men
Saturn represents limits of control as it was thought to be the limit of the Solar System

5. Unlucky Saturn
In Astrology, Saturn is blamed for all things sad, unfortunate, and terrible

6. Size of Saturn 2nd largest planet in the Solar System 95 Earth masses
“Gas Giant” along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune
Diameter 120,540km (10x Earth)

7. Density Lowest of all the planets 1/10 the density of Earth
2/3 dense as water
Saturn would float in water!

8. Saturn’s Orbit Aphelion ~ 10.1 AU ; Perihelion ~ 9.0 AU
Period of Orbit – Earth years
Axis tilt of 27 degrees
Eccentricity of .056
Rotation is 2nd fastest of known planets
Saturn rotates ~ 10 hours 39 minutes

9. Shape of Saturn Rapid rotation causes the planet to bulge
Oblate spheroid – flattened at poles and bulges at equator
Rings

10. Saturn’s Rings Discovered by Galileo (1600s)
Rings tilt at same angle as equator
~20m thick
93% water ice composition, 7% amorphous carbon
7 rings made up of thousands of ringlets, made up of billions of ice particles
Particles range in size from dust to a car

11. 2 Main Ring Theories Theory 1 Theory 2
Remnants of destroyed moon of Saturn
Theory 2
Rings left over from original nebular material that formed Saturn
Some ice comes from the moon Enceladus’ ice volcanoes

12. Saturn’s Surface Saturn is a giant ball of gas
Believed to have no solid surface
Inner core of iron and rocky material
Outer core of ammonia, methane, and water
Liquid metallic hydrogen surrounds outer core
Hydrogen and helium in a viscous form

13. Saturn’s Atmosphere
The surface and atmosphere merge (hydrogen and helium)
Dense clouds cover Saturn
Difference in temperature and altitude cause patterns and color differences in cloud tops
Hexagon clouds at North Pole

14. Temperature Tilt of axis causes seasons on Saturn
Each season = 7.5 Earth years (Saturn takes 29x longer than Earth to revolve)
Top of clouds is -175 degrees C (-285 F)
Below clouds is hot – planet gives off 2.5x the heat it receives from the Sun

15. Moons
62 Moons
Largest, Titan (diameter 5,150km) is larger than Mercury and Pluto and contains an atmosphere

16. Discovery
Galileo discovered rings 1610, though believed they were moons on either side
Christian Huygens first coined “Rings” 1665

17. Exploration 1973, Pioneer-Saturn launched by U.S.
Flew within 20,900km of Saturn
Sent close-up pictures
Discovery of 2 outer rings
Found a magnetic field 1000 times stronger than the Earth’s

18. Pioneer 11 Photos (1970s)

19. Exploration 1977, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
Confirmed existence of 7th ring
Discovered planet’s rings are made of ringlets
Discovery of 9 satellites
Atmosphere of Titan is nitrogen

20. Photos from Voyager 1
Saturn
Haze over Titan
F Ring

21. Photos from Voyager 2
Saturn
Iapetus
Enceladus
Titan

22. Exploration 1997 Cassini probe Began orbiting Saturn in 2004
Studying Saturn, its rings, and its satellites
First spacecraft to orbit Saturn (between F and G rings)

23. Cassini Probe
New Moons Daphnis and Phoebe
Titan
Eclipse

24. Saturn Mysteries? Much to learn about the rings
Strange features
Clean ice suggests only few hundred million years old?
Hexagon clouds at North Pole
Rotation impossible to pinpoint (approximate day calculated)

25. References
Spinrad, Hyron. "Saturn." World Book Online Reference Center World Book, Inc.