Saturn

1
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
Saturns Orbit

• Aphelion 10.1 AU Perihelion 9.0 AU
• Period of Orbit 29.46 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
Saturns 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
• 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
Saturns 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
Saturns 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 Earths

18
Pioneer 11 Photos (1970s)
19
Exploration

• 1977, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
• Confirmed existence of 7th ring
• Discovered planets 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. 2004. World Book, Inc.
  http//www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?idar492
  440.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SaturnPlanetary_ring
  s