Saturn

Official Name: Saturn

Distance from the Sun: 9.5 AU

Mass: 5.683 x 10 26 kilograms

Myth: Saturn was named after the Roman god of agriculture and harvest. The planet may have gotten its name from its golden color because it looks like a field of wheat. According to mythology, the god Saturn stole the position of king of the gods from his father, Uranus, but then had it stolen from Jupiter.

Interior Physical Properties: The dominating gases that compose Saturn are hydrogen and helium. Despite being the second largest planet in the solar system, Saturn has the lowest density. It is a gas giant and does not have a true surface. Saturn does have a dense core made out of water, ice, and rocky material. There is not actual landmass though. The core is believed to be similar to Jupiter–rocky and covered by a layer liquid metallic hydrogen and a layer with molecular hydrogen and ice.

Atmosphere: Like Venus, Saturn is covered in clouds. These clouds give the planet a stripe appearance. Like Jupiter, those clouds are jet streams and storms. The atmosphere surrounding Saturn is composed of ammonia, ammonia hydrosulfide, and water. These compounds give the planet a brownish-yellow appearance.

Ring Properties: Saturn has the most notable rings out of the gas giants. The rings were first seen by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Saturn has many rings made from particles of ice and rock. The ice and rocks that make up the rings range in size. The smallest can be the size of a sugar granule and the largest could be the size of a house. In 2016, a study suggested that the rings may also be chunks of dwarf planets.

Number of Moons: Saturn currently has the most moons. There is a total of 82 moons. 53 are confirmed and 29 are provisional. The largest of Saturn’s moons is Titan.

Notable Moon Info: Out of all of Saturn’s moons, Titan is the most notable. It is the second largest moon in the solar system. It is slightly larger than the planet Mercury. Titan is the only known moon with a substantial atmosphere. It is also the only place besides Earth known to have liquids in the form of rivers, lakes, and seas on the surface. These forms are made of liquid methane and ethane. Titan does have a thick crust of ice that is more water than methane. It may harbor life, but no evidence has confirmed it.

Mission Overview: The Cassini Orbiter’s mission consisted of a probe called Huygens to be sent to Saturn’s moon Titan. After studying the moon, the probe was to orbit Saturn and learn more about the planet’s rings and other satellites. The main objectives of the Cassini mission were to (1) determine the three dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the rings; (2) determine the composition of the satellite surfaces and the geological history of each object; (3) determine the nature and origin of the dark material on the moon lapetus’s leading hemisphere; (4) measure the three dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the magnetosphere; (5) study the dynamical behavior of Saturn’s atmosphere at cloud level; (6) study the time variability of Titan’s clouds and hazes; and (7) characterize Titan’s surface on a regional scale. The Cassini Orbiter was launched in October of 1997. The Cassini released the Huygens probe in December of 2004, and it landed on Titan in January of 2005. In September of 2017, the Cassini entered Saturn’s atmosphere and is on course to end its mission.