Saturn is most well known for its spectacular rings. Saturn is a planet of beauty and mystery and a place where we can still see the processes that built our Solar System in action today.- Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun, sitting between Jupiter and Uranus.
- Saturn is named for the Roman god of agriculture and harvest.
- Saturn is visible with the naked eye and so has been observed since ancient times. Its rings however are not distinguishable without a telescope and so were not discovered until 1659, by a Dutch astronomer.
- Saturn is the furthest planet from the Sun that can be seen from Earth without a telescope.
- Saturn is the second largest planet in our Solar System; smaller only than Jupiter.
- The 4 gas giants are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These 4 planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian or outer planets.
- Saturn is not a terrestrial planet.
- If Saturn were hollow 763 planets the size of Earth would fit inside.
- If the Sun were hollow 1702 planets the size of Saturn would fit inside.
- The Earth's gravity is measured as 1 unit of gravity. The gravity on all other planets is taken as a multiple of Earth's.
- Even though Saturn is massive, compared to the Earth, its density is very low. In fact Saturn's gravity is only 1.16 times that of Earth.
- A 100 lb person on Earth would only weigh 116 pounds on Saturn.
- An amusing fact about Saturn is that if you could find a large enough body of water, Saturn would float!
- A day on Saturn is 10.5 hours.
- A year on Saturn is 29.5 Earth years long!
- The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 1 AU and is used to measure distance in our Solar System. Saturn is 9.5 AU from the Sun.
- It takes the light from the Sun over almost 80 minutes to reach Saturn.
- Saturn rotates in a counterclockwise motion or from West to East, same as the Earth. If you could stand on Saturn's clouds, the Sun would rise in the East and set in the West, same as on Earth.
- Saturn is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, the same as our Sun.
- Saturn has 62 confirmed moons.
- Titan and Enceladus, two of Saturn's moons, both show geological activity which makes these two moons of interest to those searching for signs of life in our Solar System.
- Titan is the second largest moon in our Solar System, larger even than Mercury.
- Titan is the only moon in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. This atmosphere contains some of the chemicals necessary to support life making this moon of great interest to scientists searching for signs of life in our Solar System.
- Saturn's most spectacular feature is its rings. The rings are like a flat disk around the planet making it look like an old vinyl record or a fried egg.
- The rings are not solid but are composed mainly of chunks of ice; some are very tiny but some are as large as islands. It is because the rings are made of ice that they are so visible, the ice reflects the light from the Sun.
- It is believed that something collided with a moon of Saturn around 50 million years ago, smashing it to bits and forming the rings.
