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Below are
ten facts about Saturn and a table of statistics.
FACT
ONE
Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System after Jupiter. It is so big that Earth could fit into it 755 times.
FACT TWO
Saturn is a slightly smaller version of Jupiter, with similar, but less
distinctive, surface patterns. Its only main difference is its
amazing rings.
FACT THREE
Saturn's
rings may be particles of an old moon orbiting the planet, smashed
apart in a collision about 50 million years ago.
FACT FOUR
Saturn's
rings orbit the
planet at different tilts. Sometimes, they can appear like 'ears'
sticking out of the planet. At other times, they are flat on when
seen from Earth
and are hardly visible. This shows how thin they can be.
FACT FIVE
It is believed that Saturn's rings will one day disappear. They will
either disperse (spread out) into space or get sucked into the
planet by its pull of gravity. This will happen in about 50 million years.
FACT SIX
Despite its similarities to Jupiter, there is no great spot on Saturn, although the planet does
have stormy weather.
FACT SEVEN
Saturn is twice as far away from the Sun as Jupiter is.
FACT EIGHT
Saturn's largest moon, Titan,
is the only moon in the Solar System to possess an atmosphere.
FACT NINE
Saturn has such a low density (meaning that its particles are far
apart) that, if there was an ocean big enough, Saturn would float
on it. In comparison, Earth and Mercury would sink to the bottom quickest.
FACT TEN
A year on Saturn would take almost thirty Earth years. However, a day on Saturn is about 10 and a
half hours.
VIEW FACTS ABOUT OTHER
DESTINATIONS
The Sun -
Mercury -
Venus
- Earth -
The Moon -
Mars
- Jupiter -
Saturn -
Uranus
- Neptune -
Pluto and Dwarf
Planets
PLANETARY STATISTICS
| NAME |
Saturn |
| MEANING OF
NAME |
Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture. Its
Greek equivalent is Kronos. |
| NAME
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES |
Saturne (French), Saturn (German, Russian),
Saturno (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian), Saturnus (Latin), Kronos
(Greek) |
| AVERAGE
DISTANCE FROM THE SUN |
1,426,725,400 km /
885,904,700 miles / 9.537 A.U.
Comparison with
Earth: 149,597,890 km / 92,955,820 miles / 1.000 A.U. |
| CLOSEST
DISTANCE TO THE SUN (PERIHELION) |
1,349,467,000 km /
838,519,000 miles / 9.021 A.U.
Comparison with
Earth: 147,100,000 km / 91,400,000 miles / 0.983 A.U. |
| FARTHEST
DISTANCE FROM THE SUN (APHELION) |
1,503,983,000 km /
934,530,000 miles / 10.054 A.U.
Comparison with
Earth: 152,100,000 km / 94,500,000 miles / 1.017 A.U. |
| DIAMETER
ACROSS EQUATOR |
120,536 km / 74,898 miles
Comparison with
Earth: 12,756 km / 7,926 miles
|
| DIAGRAM
SHOWING PLANET'S SIZE COMPARED TO THE SIZE OF EARTH |
|
| CIRCUMFERENCE
AROUND EQUATOR |
378,675 km /
235,298 miles
Comparison with
Earth: 40,074 km / 24,901 miles |
| MASS |
568,510,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
kg
Comparison with
Earth 5,973,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg |
| TIME TO SPIN
ON AXIS |
10 hours, 39 minutes
Comparison with
Earth: 23 hours, 56 minutes |
| TIME TO ORBIT
THE SUN (1 YEAR) |
29.4 years
Comparison with
Earth: 365 days, 6 hours |
| DISTANCE
PLANET TRAVELS TO COMPLETE ONE ORBIT |
8,725,000,000 km /
5,421,000,000 miles
Comparison with
Earth: 924,375,700 km / 574,380,400 miles |
| GRAVITY (EARTH
= 1) |
.91 |
| ESCAPE
VELOCITY |
127,760 km/h /
79,390 mph
Comparison with
Earth: 40,248 km/h / 25,009 mph |
| TEMPERATURE
AT CLOUD TOPS |
-178
°c
/ -288 °F / 95 K
Comparison with Earth's average temperature: 15
°c / 59 °F / 288 K |
| CONTENTS OF
ATMOSPHERE |
Hydrogen (75%), Helium (25%), traces of other
elements like methane, ammonia and water ice. |
| KNOWN
MOONS (listed in order of distance from Saturn, including year of
discovery - not all moons have yet been named) |
There are 60 moons known to orbit Saturn - Pan
(1981), Daphnis (2005), Atlas (1980), Prometheus (1980), Pandora (1980),
Epimetheus (1980), Janus (1980), Mimas (1789), Methone (2004), Anthe
(2004), Pallene (2004), Enceladus (1789), Telesto (1980), Tethys (1684),
Calypso (1980), Dione (1684), Helene (1980), Polydeuces (2004), Rhea
(1672), Titan (1655), Hyperion (1848), Iapetus (1671), Kiviuq (2000),
Ijiraq (2000), Phoebe (1898), Paaliaq (2000), Skathi (2000), Albiorix
(2000), S/2007 S3 (2007), Bebhionn (2004), Erriapo (2000), Siarnaq (2000), Skoll (2006),
Tarvos (2000), Tarqeq (2007), Greip (2006), Hyrrokkin (2004), S/2004 S13
(2004), S/2004 S17 (2004), Mundilfari
(2000), Jarnsaxa (2006), S/2006 S1 (2006), Narvi (2003), Bergelmir (2004), Suttungr
(2000), S/2004 S12 (2004), S/2004 S07 (2004), Hati (2004), Bestla
(2004), Farbauti (2004), Thrymr (2000), S/2007 S2 (2007), Aegir (2004),
S/2006 S3 (2006), Kari (2006),
Fenrir (2004), Surtur (2006), Ymir (2000), Loge (2006), Fornjot (2004) |
| PAST MISSIONS
(including nationality and year of launch) |
Pioneer
11 (USA, 1973) |
| PRESENT
MISSIONS |
Voyager
1 (USA, 1977), Voyager 2 (USA, 1977), Cassini-Huygens (1997) |
| PLANNED
MISSIONS |
Saturn
flyby and probes (USA, 2015) |
| NOTABLE
FEATURES |
Saturn's
rings are the most prominent of any planet in the Solar System. |
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