Let’s talk about Saturn, the sixth planet in our solar system and the second largest gas giant.
You may remember this planet best for its spectacular rings, but there is much more to learn about this gas giant of the solar system. These are some fascinating tidbits about Saturn.
Saturn Can Float On Water
Saturn would float in any body of water large enough to hold it. This massive gas monster has a lower density than water, meaning it might float on the surface.
Saturn is not a sphere
Saturn has a very rapid rotation. A typical day on the planet lasts only approximately 10 hours. Moreover, the planet's speed makes it flatten significantly, unlike the other spherical planets in our solar system. Saturn may be imagined as a slightly deformed football ball.
When we first began sending probes to Saturn, it received four guests
Four probes have been launched to investigate the ringed planet. The first was NASA's 1973 Pioneer 11 mission, which took advantage of a rare outer planetary configuration to investigate the enormous gas planets. Then Voyagers I and II made their close approaches. Most recently, we also had the Cassini-Huygens mission, which lasted from 2004 until 2017.
No One Knows How Old Saturn's Rings Are
Saturn's rings might be far younger than the 4.5 billion years when the solar system formed. The rings of Saturn are thought to have formed when the planet's gravity tore apart a large ice moon. The origin of the rings is a mystery to us.
Saturn Is Visible to the Unaided Eye
Saturn is the furthest planet visible in the sky. Its famous rings need a telescope or a clear zoom lens, but the planet's nighttime light is visible to the naked eye.
Jupiter and Saturn Form the bulk of the Sun's planetary neighborhood
The gas giants Jupiter and Saturn are enormous. The combined mass of all the planets in our solar system is 92 percent. With the addition of the remaining two gas giants, Neptune and Uranus, you have 99.5 percent of the total mass of the planets in our solar system. The four inner planets account for less than one-half of one percent.
The Interior of Saturn Is Very Hot
Since Saturn lacks a surface, its rocky interior may reach extremely high temperatures. The molten metal at the core can get hotter than the surface of the Sun, reaching temperatures of around 15,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The winds on Saturn are among the fastest in the Solar System
The combination of Saturn's dense atmosphere and its staggering rate of rotation results in some of the fastest winds in the solar system. Saturn's winds may reach 1,118 miles per hour (1,800 km/h) in the upper atmosphere (mph).
