Saturn

Iconic Rings

• Saturn's rings are made of ice, rock, and dust, extending over 280,000 km, but only 10 meters thick.

• Rings are divided into sections, labeled alphabetically by discovery order.

Gas Giant Characteristics

• Saturn is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium with no solid surface.

• Features thick clouds and winds up to 1,800 km/h near the equator.

Planetary Features

• Fast rotation completes in 10.7 hours, causing an oblate shape.

• Second-largest planet, with a diameter nine times Earth's, but low density allows it to float in water.

Atmospheric Phenomena

• Home to massive storms, including a unique hexagon-shaped storm at the north pole.

• The interior consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, transitioning to metallic hydrogen under pressure.

  • • A layer of liquid metallic hydrogen generates Saturn's magnetic field.

    • The rocky core is dense, 10-20 times Earth's mass, surrounded by liquid and metallic hydrogen.

    • Compounds like ammonia, methane, and water mix with liquid hydrogen in deeper layers due to high pressure.

    • Saturn emits more heat than it receives from the Sun, likely from planetary contraction and "helium rain."

• Saturn's Atmospheric Composition and Features

• Saturn's atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen (96%) and helium (3%), with trace gases contributing to its yellowish-brown color.

• Distinct cloud layers include ammonia ice, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water ice, forming visible bands.

• Winds and Storms on Saturn

• The planet experiences fast winds up to 1,800 km/h, creating striped appearances and jet streams.

• Notable storms include a hexagonal-shaped system at the north pole over 30,000 km wide and periodic "Great White Spot" storms appearing every 30 years.

• Saturn's Characteristics

• Second-largest planet with a diameter of about 120,500 km, nine times Earth's.

• It can contain 764 Earths due to its massive volume but is less dense because it is mostly gas.

• Saturn has the lowest density of any planet, at 0.687 g/cm³, meaning it would float in water.

• Saturn's Shape and Gravity

• Rapid rotation leads to an oblate shape with a 10% larger equatorial diameter than the polar diameter.

• Despite lower density, Saturn's size gives it a gravity 1.07 times stronger than Earth's.