What is Saturn: Definition and 80 Discussions

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It only has one-eighth the average density of Earth; however, with its larger volume, Saturn is over 95 times more massive. Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture; its astronomical symbol (♄) represents the god's sickle. The Romans named the seventh day of the week Saturday, Sāturni diēs ("Saturn's Day") no later than the 2nd century for the planet Saturn.Saturn's interior is most likely composed of a core of iron–nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds). Its core is surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and finally a gaseous outer layer. Saturn has a pale yellow hue due to ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. An electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than the Earth's, but which has a magnetic moment 580 times that of Earth due to Saturn's larger size. Saturn's magnetic field strength is around one-twentieth of Jupiter's. The outer atmosphere is generally bland and lacking in contrast, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h (1,100 mph; 500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter but not as high as on Neptune.The planet's most famous feature is its prominent ring system, which is composed mostly of ice particles, with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. At least 82 moons are known to orbit Saturn, of which 53 are officially named; this does not include the hundreds of moonlets in its rings. Titan, Saturn's largest moon and the second largest in the Solar System, is larger than the planet Mercury, although less massive, and is the only moon in the Solar System to have a substantial atmosphere.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. Astronuc

    B Saturn's 145 Moons: The Latest Discoveries and What Sets Them Apart

    Saturn reclaims 'moon king' title with 62 newfound satellites, bringing total to 145 https://www.space.com/saturn-moon-king-62-newfound-satellites Astronomers have discovered 62 new moons orbiting the ringed planet Saturn, bringing to total to 145 Moons, with 121 irregular moons and 24 regular...
  2. fresh_42

    B Jupiter and Saturn in one frame

    https://phys.org/news/2020-11-december-jupiter-saturn-planet-middle.html I do not know if we have enough hobby astronomers here, but the above calls for a photo competition. But in any case, don't miss the opportunity if you're a stargazer!
  3. S

    I How bright of a bolide would a Saturn IV-B stage be if it hit Earth

    I understand that there are a few of these still out there that have basically become Earth-crossing asteroids. It would seem that they wouldn't be as bright as the recent Chelyabinsk meteor.
  4. T

    B Conjunction Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon - March 18 + or -

    Yup, they all appear together pre-dawn on March 18 to the SE. The planets hang out together for a week or so, while the Moon moves on. https://www.news4jax.com/weather/2020/03/16/you-are-missing-planet-palooza-if-you-dont-look-up-the-next-few-days/
  5. chasrob

    Saturn 5 top end in outer space

    I'm writing an SF novel with FTL travel. In my story, there are different motion regimes, including superluminal, based on this https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333614143_A_GENERAL_LOCAL_CAUSALITY_PRINCIPLE_OF_SPACE-TIME_A_PREPRINT I found. My story: in our (c1) regime, whatever...
  6. F

    B Why Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun have a distinctive and sharp boundary?

    Pardon the very naive question, but why does the atmosphere in these gas giants seem to have, from a distance, a very clear, sharp and distinctive boundary? When one looks at Earth's atmosphere from space, it seems to have a fuzzy bluish boundary, gracefully vanishing into the black. I read...
  7. gmax137

    B Saturn's Rings Appearance from Saturn?

    What do the rings look like from an observer on the planet? Are they visible, or too "edge on" to see? Or maybe the sky is too bright?
  8. Stephenk53

    Tree of Saturn or alternatives

    I wish to create a tree of saturn (crystal formation using lead acetate and zinc), however I have very little experience in chemistry and I know lead acetate is toxic but I do not know how toxic. I know how to make the tree but I want to know if I should or if there is a safer alternative that I...
  9. wolram

    B How did Jupiter and Saturn disrupt our solar system

    This article suggests that exoplanets are the same size and have equal orbital spacing ,so what is different from our solar system. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180109141918.htm An international research team led by Université de Montréal astrophysicist Lauren Weiss has...
  10. A

    Finding the Mass of Saturn

    Homework Statement Using only a telescope and a stopwatch, find the mass of Saturn.[/B] (This question may or may not make any sense at all, it was a theoretical lab that my professor said without giving us a chance to copy it down and I am trying to recall the question from memory) If it is...
  11. Noisy Rhysling

    B We have kittens in orbit around Saturn

    Cosmic Kittens: Saturn Features Get Feline Names By Hanneke Weitering, Space.com Staff Writer | September 25, 2017 07:00am ET I f you know anything about Saturn, you probably know that it's a planet surrounded by rings. But did you know that it's also surrounded by cats? NASA's Cassini...
  12. Stavros Kiri

    Cassini's Grand Finale - Fascinating New Insight

    I thought this is interesting (and new)! Any thoughts or insights? E.g. I liked the "... as Cassini becomes part of the planet itself ..." on 3' 12'' ...
  13. D

    A What keeps Rhea stable? Simulation shows Titan-assist escape

    Hi everyone, I have created a simulation of the major bodies in the Solar System, using the exact positions, velocities, and masses etc. at midnight on Jan 10 (as provided by the NASA HORIZONS project). Using Newtonian gravity I numerically simulate the forces between all the bodies (with a...
  14. larry909

    B Is this Saturn photo real or an artist's rendition?

    It's hard to beleive, it looks so uniform and like it was drawn. https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/system/resources/detail_files/7547_PIA20506_full.jpg Webpage of photo: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7547/?category=images
  15. J

    Saturn: Helium Rain, or non-indigenous planet?

    I'm using Chaisson'/McMillan's "Astronomy, a Beginner's Guide to the Universe"/7th Edition In Chapter 7, it describes the gas giants, and says that Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have "86% Hydrogen, 14% Helium" in their atmospheres, while Saturn has about 92% hydrogen, and 7% Helium, in its...
  16. C

    Saturn Day Shorter Than Expected | Ken Croswell | Science

    by Ken Croswell Bad news for any slackers on Saturn: The days on the ringed planet are shorter than the number you'll find in most books--6 minutes briefer, to be exact. The faster spin drastically changes how scientists think Saturn's winds blow. Full story: Science.
  17. N

    Escape velocity for Saturn (Introductory Mechanics)

    Homework Statement The radius of Saturn (from the center to just above the atmosphere) is 60,300 km (60300✕10^3 m), and its mass is 570✕10^24 kg. An object is launched straight up from just above the atmosphere of Saturn. (a) What initial speed is needed so that when the object is far from...
  18. Ygggdrasil

    What might cell membranes look like on Titan?

    Life on Earth uses water as a solvent, but scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life existing in non-aqueous environments. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has seas of liquid methane, and scientists at Cornell wanted to test whether structures similar to cell membranes could...
  19. P

    Saturn's Rings: Part of the Planet or Satellites?

    Homework Statement There is a ring outside of Saturn. In order to distinguish if the ring is actually a part of Saturn or is instead part of the satellites of Saturn, we need to know the relation between the velocity v of each layer in the ring and the distance R of the layer to the center of...
  20. L

    Why if we put Saturn in water, it will float?

    Why if we put Saturn in water, it will float?
  21. Zack Davis

    Escape Velocity and Gravitational Force

    Hey Guys! I've been doing a few equations in regards to planetary escape velocity and gravitational force. The below links have the escape velocity of listed planet on the left side of the board, the gravitational force between the Sun and given planet on the right side. In the middle of the...
  22. E

    How fast does light travel from sun to Saturn equation

    [b]1. the distance between the sun and Saturn is approx. 8.9x10^8 mi. The speed of light is approx. 1.9x10^5 miles per second. How long does it take light to travel from the sun to Saturn? Answer in units of seconds. Homework Equations [b]3. The Attempt at a Solution I have...
  23. DennisN

    Is Saturn the Night Object in Photos?

    Hi all! I took a couple of pictures of the Moon at night on 16 May (with an Olympus VR-340 compact digital camera, 10x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom). I used a very small tripod mounted on a microphone stand :biggrin:, and I decided to try out the camera on a star just for fun. First I tried on...
  24. B

    To Saturn at (nearly) the speed of light

    A quick question I hope: What would I see from Earth if I sent a rocket to Saturn at nearly the speed of light? If the rocket travels a million miles at a thousand miles an hour I will see it arrive in 1000 hours. If the rocket travels at nearing the speed of light I won't see it arrive for...
  25. QuantumCurt

    Looking for some info on Saturn V rocket launch

    Hey everyone. I was hoping I could get some assistance locating some material to research on the launch of the Saturn V rocket. I'm doing my honors project for calculus 1 on rocket launches, and I'm going to be focusing on the Saturn V. I'm going to do an in depth analysis on the forces...
  26. U

    Saturn V specific impulse issue in velocity modelling with Tsiolkovsky

    Hi! I've been trying to model the Saturn V's velocity using Tsiolkovsky's ideal rocket equation, and in the process, I think I may have made a mistake with regards to the specific impulse? I've come up with the following equation, taking the change in gravity into account. (a(t) is the...
  27. J

    Where rest of inner solar system in Cassini picture from Saturn?

    Here's the Cassini image from Saturn. Suppose I map an x-y coordinate system on that picture with the Earth (that pale blue dot down there) at the origin. Without looking at anything else, can you place points at the perimeter of the square picture, giving the angle pointing to where the sun...
  28. C

    Used an app to locate Saturn

    Hey, was just wondering, yesterday I was looking through my 10x50 binocular and used an app to locate Saturn. What I was seeing in the binocular was a burning ball (It was really bright compared to the stars.) and there was a sort of blue color around the bright ball. Would you think that was...
  29. Mordred

    Saturn hurricane spotted by Cassini

    Current event Nasa satellite Cassini spotted a North pole locked hurricane 2000 km wide. http://theconversation.com/nasa-pics-reveal-huge-rose-hurricane-on-saturn-13823
  30. M

    Setup for the saturn effects of Kristian Birkeland's experiments

    Hi, Has anyone in recent times reproduced the experiments of Kristian Birkeland, WRT to his Saturn effect using his terrella? If so what were the conditions? Adam
  31. P

    Asteroids zooming past Saturn?

    After waiting about 10 days for clear weather last night and this morning I spent several hours testing a new observational rig: a very heavy high power set of binoculars mounted on a heavy tripod with a geared turret. Conditions were good: clear, still and cold (-4 degrees C) but with some...
  32. L

    Solar wobble - what are the effects of Jupiter and Saturn?

    Hi I came across this excellent forum :) I am trying to figure out the solar wobble. When only looking at the Sun+Jupiter+Saturn, my intuitive interpretation is that the Sun will go faster/wobble more at Jupiter-Saturn-conjunction, and slower at oppositions. Is this correct? If so, there...
  33. Astronuc

    Saturn Storm (Dec 2010 to 2013)

    A large storm has been studied since December 2010. New research indicates the storm is stronger than first thought. Associated with the storm is a huge volume of ethylene, with an amount roughly 100 times through possible on Saturn. The source of the ethylene is unknown. NASA's...
  34. W

    Just how dark is Pluto from orbit? How about Saturn?

    Quick question that maybe someone here could answer. I could probably dig up a bunch of math equations and answer it too, but I'm guessing someone here already has a good idea about the answer. Placing the Sun at the center of a sphere whose radius is equal to the distance of the Sun to...
  35. lpetrich

    Jupiter and Saturn - Back and Forth in the Early Solar System?

    The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Exoplanet Orbit Database | Exoplanet Data Explorer Numerous planets outside the Solar System have been discovered, and for some curious reason, a large number of them are around Jupiter's mass, but much closer in than one would expect. The usual theory...
  36. M

    Trip to Saturn: Constant Acceleration of 9.81 m/s^2 - Is It Possible?

    If I am in a spaceship and it begins a constant acceleration of 9.81 m/s^2, would I be able to stand up in the spaceship and it would feel the same as gravity? (This is assuming the fact that my feet were placed in the direction of the thrust source.) I've done some equations, and a ship...
  37. F

    Calculating the Mass of Saturn Using Orbital Data

    titan, a moon of saturn, has a 16 day orbital period and an orbital radius of 1,222,000 km. what is the mass of saturn? my attempt: t = 2*pi*r^(3/2)/sqrt(g*m) t = 16 days = 1,382,400 s r = 1,222,000/2 km = 611,000,000 m 1,382,400 = 2*pi*611,000,000^(3/2)/sqrt(6.67e-11*m) => m =...
  38. C

    If you leave Earth traveling at .01c can you reach Saturn in 6 days?

    If you leave Earth traveling at .01c can you reach Saturn in 6 days? What type of presently conceptual craft could most realistically achieve this?
  39. W

    The Blushing Face of Saturn: Radiance, Luminosity & Habitable Zone

    Okay, reeling from a defeat in the stellar ring with a self gravitating mass of gas that imploded at a massive temperature when all I wanted it to do was hang around nice and calmly while I put gravitating bodies in it...now I move on to a slightly more conventional model. I do plan to do most...
  40. OmCheeto

    Old news as new news. Saturn 5 years ago.

    Don't remember seeing this. Does NASA do September fools jokes? I cannot imagine anything so CGI being for real.
  41. T

    Finding Saturn and Jupiter

    hello everybody can anyone help me find saturn and Jupiter on a given night. i have a medium powered reflective telescope and i have to organize an astronomy night on the 3rd of june thanks.
  42. C

    View Saturn w/ 1100x120 Reflector: Eye Piece Guide

    wondering which eye piece is best to use with my 1100x120 reflector galileo ,all i get for image is white fuzzy circle
  43. E

    View Saturn Through a Telescope: A Noob's Guide

    hi I am an astronomy nooby and i am trying to find saturn in my telescope, i don't know what seasons it is visible in, can someone help :D?
  44. Dotini

    Electric Link Saturn to Enceladus

    "NASA is releasing the first images and sounds of an electrical connection between Saturn and one of its moons. The data collected by the agency's Cassini spacecraft enable scientists to improve their understanding of the complex web of interaction between the planet and its numerous moons...
  45. C

    Why the plane of the rings is vertical to the rotation axis of Saturn?

    Why the plane of the rings is vertical to the rotation axis of Saturn? I don't think this is a coincidence, because the orbits of the 8 planets in our Solar System is roughly in a plane, and some galaxies are like a plate, so does the accretion plane of the black hole. But as we know...
  46. G

    HELP on a spacecraft mission to saturn for the injection velocity

    HELP on a spacecraft mission to saturn for the injection velocity i beg you please Homework Statement on intial approach to Saturn, the spacecraft mass is 3500 kg. To enter orbit around Saturn , the vehicle has a 400N thrust primary propulsion engine, with a specific impulse of 310 sec...
  47. A

    Calculating Thrust & Initial Acceleration of Saturn V

    Homework Statement The first stage of a Saturn V space vehicle consumes fuel at the rate of 47400 kg/s, with an exhaust speed of 2820 m/s. The acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s2 . Calculate the thrust produced by these en- gines. Answer in units of N. (part 2 of 2) 10.0 points Note...
  48. J

    \Seeking Value for Saturn V Rocket Drag Coefficient

    Hi, just found these forums, and they look very useful. I'm a second year Aerospace Engineering student, and as part of a project I'm modelling the first stage of a Saturn V rocket. I'm using a linear and non-linear model, and have all the equations sorted out. The only problem is I can't...
  49. P

    Calculating the Initial Vertical Acceleration of a Saturn V Rocket

    Homework Statement A Saturn V rocket has a mass of 2.75x10^6 Kg and exerts a force of 3.3x10^6N on the gases it expels. determine the initial vertical acceleration of the rocket. 2. The attempt at a solution heres my attempt... F=3.3x10^6N Fg= M=2.75x10^6 Fnet-MA F-Fg=ma F-mg=ma...
  50. G

    Does Saturn Have a Hexagon on it?

    As the title says, just seen this Video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzL194jiTyY&feature=player_embedded#t=107 Is that real??
Back
Top