The Planet Saturn

The Planet Saturn

Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun. It is a "gas giant" and is the 2nd largest planet in the solar system. Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles and rocks.

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Saturn and 2 of its moons

Source: NASA

Saturn and 2 of its moons

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Written by camwinston on
Jupiter is the 5th planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is two and a half times as massive as all of the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant, along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian planets. The planet was known by astronomers of ancient times and was associated with the mythology and religious beliefs of many cultures. The Romans named the planet after the Roman god Jupiter.[10] When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of −2.8, ... Read Full Story
Written by ecofriend on
New episode every Monday! In human speak please! Cassini-Huygens is a joint exploration mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, which launched the Cassini spacecraft in 1997. It took Cassini almost seven years to reach Saturn and in 2005 it successfully landed the Huygens probe on Titan. The mission continues to produce amazing images and data of Saturn and its system. Is that all? Fact Sheet: Saturn Location: : Solar System, 6th Planet from Sun at 9.5 AU. Distance from Earth: 10.5 AU Max, 8.5 AU Min. Orbital Period: 10,759 days (29.45 years) Mass: 5.685×10 26 kg Diameter: 60,268 km Surface Temperature: ... Read Full Story
Written by starling on
Physicists from the University of Granada and University of Valencia, analyzing data sent by the Huygens probe from Titan, have “unequivocally” proved that there is natural electrical activity on Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. The world scientist community believes that the probability of organic molecules, precursors of life, being formed is higher on planets or moons which have an atmosphere with electrical storms. Juan Antonio Morente, from the Department of Applied Physics at the University of Granada, told Servicio de Informacion y Noticias Cientificas(SINC) this summer that Titan has been considered a “unique world in the solar system” since 1908 when, the Spanish ... Read Full Story
Written by nlhouser on
“Detection of liquid ethane in Ontario Lacus confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane exist on Titan,” said researcher Larry Soderblom of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz. Considered the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest moon in the solar system, astronomers have always suspected that the giant Titan had an atmosphere on it. They also suspected that frozen water was on its surface due to its low temperatures of minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit. But suspecting and knowing are too different things, and just recently it was proven by Cassini fly-bys and image studies of ... Read Full Story
Written by starling on
NASA's Cassini spacecraft buzzed Titan last month, coming close enough to taste the Saturnian moon's atmosphere.  The data acquired has implications for our understanding of life throughout the galaxy, as well as Earth's own past. The second largest moon in the solar system, Titan has long been of interest for hopeful exobioligists.  As the only other body we know of with surface bodies of liquid, complete with nitrogen, methane and complete seasonal weather weather patterns (similar to Earth's).  It even has beaches, though you'll need a little more than a swimsuit to visit.  Vast bodies of chemicals constantly stirred by wind and wave, heated ... Read Full Story
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The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired on Dec. 8 from the Deep Space Network tracking complex at Madrid, Spain. The Cassini spacecraft is in an excellent state of health and all subsystems are operating normally.  
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The Cassini spacecraft has returned the best images yet of the strange hexagonal jet stream that flows around the northern pole of Saturn. First discovered by the Voyager spacecraft in the early 1980s, the hexagon remains a beautiful mystery to astronomers, and one they’ve been waiting for another shot to see for almost three decades.  
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Iapetus is often called Saturn's most bizarre moon, due to its starkly contrasting hemispheres -- one black as coal, the other white as snow. Images taken by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, orbiting Saturn since 2004, offer the most compelling evidence to date of why and how the moon got its yin-yang appearance, as well as clues to how other such satellites might have formed in the early universe. Analyzed by a research team that includes...  
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Cameras aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft capture striking new images of a mysterious hexagon-shaped cloud formation on Saturn. The hexagon is probably formed by the path of a jet stream flowing around the planet's north pole. It was first discovered by the Voyager spacecraft in the early 1980s.  
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I've grown used to Saturn over the last five-plus years. Cassini's amazing cameras have set a new standard for the quality, sharpness, resolution, beautiful color, and all-around spectacularness of images returned from the outer solar system. Almost every day, there's a few dozen, even hundreds of new images to look at. It's gotten so that I find it hard to look at each new image with fresh eyes -- I'm getting jaded, or maybe I've just run...  
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