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HISTORY
What Is Saturn
Saturn is the Sixth planet from the Sun and the Second LARGEST
in the SOLAR SYSTEM.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about nine times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 times more massive.Even though Saturn is almost as big as Jupiter, Saturn has less than a third its mass. Saturn orbits the Sun at a distance of 9.59 AU (1,434 million km), with an orbital period of 29.45 years.
Facts About Saturn
- Saturn is the most distant planet that can be seen with the naked eye.
It is the fifth brightest object in the solar system and is also easily studied through binoculars or a small telescope.
- Saturn was known to the ancients, including the Babylonians and Far Eastern observers.
It is named for the Roman god Saturnus, and was known to the Greeks as Cronus.
- Saturn is the flattest planet.
Its polar diameter is 90% of its equatorial diameter, this is due to its low density and fast rotation. Saturn turns on its axis once every 10 hours and 34 minutes giving it the second-shortest day of any of the solar system’s planets.
- Saturn orbits the Sun once every 29.4 Earth years.
Its slow movement against the backdrop of stars earned it the nickname of “Lubadsagush” from the ancient Assyrians. The name means “oldest of the old”.
- Saturn’s upper atmosphere is divided into bands of clouds.
The top layers are mostly ammonia ice. Below them, the clouds are largely water ice. Below are layers of cold hydrogen and sulfur ice mixtures.