SATURN

BY CA RO L I N

E CRAMER

SYMBOL AND NAME• Saturn is named for

the Roman god of Agriculture.

• • In English Saturn

means Saturday

DISCOVERY • Galileo observed Saturn

in 1610• In 1659 Christian

Huygens figured out the geometry of the rings.

• Visited by NASA in 1979

MEASUREMENTS Distance from the sun (9.54

AU)Distance from earth (8.54 AU) Mass: 5.6832 times 10 26 KgVolume: 8.2713 times 10 14 Km 3

Density: 0.687 g/cm3

ORBIT AND ROTATIONOrbit the sun: 10,759 days

Rotate on it’s axis: 10 hours 13 minutes

GRAVITY AND ATMOSPHERE• Would Saturn float or sink in water?Saturn would float, if there was enough

water, because it is made of mostly gas and it is less dense then water.

• Saturn’s gravity is 91% of earth’s gravity

• Saturn has a thick atmosphere• Made mainly of hydrogen and helium

COMPOSITION AND APPEARANCE• Saturn is a gas giant which means

that it does not have a solid surface.

• Internal composition: rocks and ice

• Appearance: Large, grey/orange,Large circling rings.

RINGS• Made of chunks of rock and

ice• 7 thin rings (169,800 miles

wide, 0.62 thin)• Grey, blue, and greenish• Each ring orbits at a different

speed• In 1659 Christiaan Huygens

discovered the rings

WATER• There are small chunks of water and ice

in the atmosphere.• In 2010 and 2011 a storm churned

water and ice up from within the thick atmosphere

MOONS• 53 moons• Titan is a well known moon• The others are Atlas, Calypso, Dione,

Enceladus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Janus, Mimas, Phobe, Tethys

WEATHER• Cool temperatures (minus 288

degrees Fahrenheit)• Every saturn year (equivalent to 30

Earth years) an enormous storm is produced

• known as the great white spots• First observation of these storms

was in 1876

WHAT IF YOU TRAVELED TO SATURN?• Saturn can not support life• You would not be able to walk

because Saturn is made of gas.• You would freeze because of the

cold temperatures• You would suffocate because

there is no oxygen

COOL FACTS• If Saturn was the size of a

basketball, earth would be a nickel• Saturn spins so quickly on its axis

that the planet flattens itself out into an oblate spheroid. (it looks flat)

• Saturn is the least dense planet in the Solar System

BIBLIOGRAPHYNola Taylor Redd. "Saturn's Temperature: One Cool

Planet." Space.com. Space.com, 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

"Mystery of Saturns Great White Spot." Http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2013/06/mystery-of-saturns-great-white-spot-solved.html. N.p., 24 June 12. Web.

"Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview." Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2013.

"Saturn:Overview." Olar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview." Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview. N.p., N.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2013. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Nine Planets." The Solar System Tour. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2013.