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Saturn Facts for Kids
- Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system and is another gas giant.
- Saturn has a small rocky core covered with liquid gas.
- It is surrounded by a system of rings that stretch out into space for thousands of kilometres.
- The rings are made up of millions of ice crystals, some as big as houses and others as small as specks of dust.
- Saturn is very light as it is made up of more hydrogen than helium so it is less dense. If we could fit Saturn into a bathtub it would float (but that would have to be one big bathtub!)
- Like Jupiter, Saturn has many moons which surround it.
- Saturn is not a peaceful planet. Storm winds race around the atmosphere at 800kmp/h.
- Saturn has a very strong magnetic field which traps energy particles resulting in high levels of radiation.
Perhaps the most beautiful planet in our solar system (other than earth of course) due to its spectacular ring system, Saturn is a gas giant that features many extreme physical features and atmospheric conditions the most beautiful planet in our solar system (other than earth of course) due to its spectacular ring system, Saturn is a gas giant that features many extreme physical features and atmosph .Perhaps the most beautiful planet in our solar system (other than earth of course) due to its spectacular ring system, Saturn is aSaturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in the solar system. Saturn was the Roman name for Cronus, the lord of the Titans in Greek mythology. Saturn is the root of the English word "Saturday."
Saturn is the farthest planet from Earth visible to the naked human eye, but it is through a telescope that the planet's most outstanding features can be seen: Saturn's rings. Although the other gas giants in the solar system — Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune — also have rings, those of Saturn are without a doubt the most extraordinary.
Physical characteristics of Saturn
Saturn is a gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is bigenough to hold more than 760 Earths, and is more massive than any other planet except Jupiter, roughly 95 times Earth's mass. However, Saturn has the lowest density of all the planets, and is the only one less dense than water — if there were a bathtub big enough to hold it, Saturn would float.
The yellow and gold bands seen in Saturn's atmosphere are the result of super-fast winds in the upper atmosphere, which can reach up to 1,100 mph (1,800 km/h) around its equator, combined with heat rising
gas giant that features many extreme physical features and atmospheric conditioeric. conditio for kidsfrom the planet's interior.
Saturn spins faster than any other planet except Jupiter, completing a rotation roughly every 10-and-a-half hours. This rapid spinning causes Saturn to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles — the planet is 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) wider at its equator than between the poles.
Saturn's most recent curiosity may be the giant hexagon circling its north pole, with each of its sides nearly 7,500 miles (12,500 km) across — big enough to fit nearly four Earths inside. Thermal images show it reaches some 60 miles (100 km) down into the planet's atmosphere. It remains uncertain what causes it.
Other titanic storms appear in Saturn’s atmosphere once every Saturn year (approximately 30 Earth-years), disrupting the temperature and winds of the planet’s skies. Six such storms have been observed on the planet since 1876, but in 2011, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft became the first orbiter to observe one.
Like other giant planets, Saturn also has northern and southern lights, caused by particles from the sun.
http://www.space.com/26037-saturn-aurora-photos-hubble-telescope.htmlComposition & structure
Atmospheric composition (by volume): 96.3 percent molecular hydrogen, 3.25 percent helium, minor amounts of methane, ammonia, hydrogen deuteride, ethane, ammonia ice aerosols, water ice aerosols, ammonia hydrosulfide aerosols
Magnetic field: Saturn has a magnetic field about 578 times more powerful than Earth's.
Chemical composition: Saturn seems to have a hot solid inner core of iron and rocky material surrounded by an outer core probably composed of ammonia, methane, and water. Next is a layer of highly compressed, liquid metallic hydrogen, followed by a region of viscous hydrogen and helium. This hydrogen and helium becomes gaseous near the planet's surface and merges with its atmosphere.
Internal structure: Saturn seems to have a core between about 10 to 20 times as massive as Earth.
Orbit & rotation
Average distance from the sun: 885,904,700 miles (1,426,725,400 km). By comparison: 9.53707 times that of Earth.
Perihelion (closest approach to sun): 838,519,000 miles (1,349,467,000 km). By comparison: 9.177 times that of Earth.
Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 934,530,000 miles (1,503,983,000 km). By comparison: 9.886 times that of Earth.
Composition & structure
Atmospheric composition (by volume): 96.3 percent molecular hydrogen, 3.25 percent helium, minor amounts of methane, ammonia, hydrogen deuteride, ethane, ammonia ice aerosols, water ice aerosols, ammonia hydrosulfide aerosols
Magnetic field: Saturn has a magnetic field about 578 times more powerful than Earth's.
Chemical composition: Saturn seems to have a hot solid inner core of iron and rocky material surrounded by an outer core probably composed of ammonia, methane, and water. Next is a layer of highly compressed, liquid metallic hydrogen, followed by a region of viscous hydrogen and helium. This hydrogen and helium becomes gaseous near the planet's surface and merges with its atmosphere.
Internal structure: Saturn seems to have a core between about 10 to 20 times as massive as Earth.
Orbit & rotation
Average distance from the sun: 885,904,700 miles (1,426,725,400 km). By comparison: 9.53707 times that of Earth.
Perihelion (closest approach to sun): 838,519,000 miles (1,349,467,000 km). By comparison: 9.177 times that of Earth.
Saturn's moons
Saturn has at least 62 moons. Since the planet was named after Cronus, lord of the Titans in Greek mythology, most of Saturn's moons are named after other Titans, their descendants, as well as after giants from Gallic, Inuit and Norse myths.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is slightly larger than Mercury, and is the second-largest moon in the solar system behind Jupiter's moon Ganymede. (Earth's moon is the fifth largest.) Titan is veiled under a very thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere that might be like what Earth's was long ago, before life. While the Earth's atmosphere extends only about 37 miles (60 km) into space, Titan's reaches nearly 10 times as far. The atmosphere contains a
Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 934,530,000 miles (1,503,983,000 km). By comparison: 9.886 times that of Earth.
Saturn's moons
Saturn has at least 62 moons. Since the planet was named after Cronus, lord of the Titans in Greek mythology, most of Saturn's moons are named after other Titans, their descendants, as well as after giants from Gallic, Inuit and Norse myths.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is slightly larger than Mercury, and is the second-largest moon in the solar system behind Jupiter's moon Ganymede. (Earth's moon is the fifth largest.) Titan is veiled under a very thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere that might be like what Earth's was long ago, before life. While the Earth's atmosphere extends only about 37 miles (60 km) into space, Titan's reaches nearly 10 times as far. The atmosphere contains a
Saturn's rings
Galileo Galilei was the first to see Saturn's rings in 1610, although from his telescope they resembled handles or arms. It took Dutch astronomerChristiaan Huygens, who had a more powerful telescope, to propose that Saturn had a thin, flat ring.
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