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How far it is from the sun:886 million miles ( 1.4 billion kilometers ) , on mean
How big it is:72,400 miles(116,500 km ) across , or almost 10 times the sizing of Earth .
A Mosaic of Saturn taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on November 20, 2017. This view is constructed from 42 of those wide-angle shots, taken using the red, green and blue spectral filters, combined and mosaicked together to create a natural-color view.
How many moons it has : At least 274 know moons , with more likely to be find
With its beautiful rings , Saturn may be the most stunning major planet in thesolar organisation . It is the sixth satellite from the Lord’s Day and the secondly - largest satellite in thesolar system , after Jupiter .
Though Saturn is far-famed for its rings , all of the other gargantuan planet — includingJupiter , UranusandNeptune — have ring system . But Saturn stand out for have beautiful yellow and amber banding across its Earth’s surface , as well as for hosting more Moon than any other satellite in thesolar organization . In fact , some of Saturn ’s moons are among the best topographic point to seek for life outside Earth .
Saturn is the sixth-closest planet to the sun. Here, it is shown next to other planets with accurate relative sizes (but not distances between planets).
5 fast facts about Saturn
Everything you need to know about Saturn
Why does Saturn have rings?
Saturn ’s beautiful rings are made of frozen moment of John Rock and dust . Scientists think the pack formed when asteroid , comets and pieces of moonsshattered into bitsunder the force of Saturn ’s gravity . slice of the rings swan in sizing from diminutive particle of detritus to huge , mountain - sizing rocks .
Saturn ’s halo extend up to 175,000 miles ( 282,000 kilometer ) from the planet . However , they are very thin : The master rings have a elevation of only 30 feet ( 10 m ) , on average , according to NASA . The rings are name for the rules of order in which they were discovered . The main rings are the A , atomic number 5 and C closed chain , while the D , E , F and G rings are fainter and were discovered more of late .
Very far out , there is a faint-hearted halo in the sphere of Saturn ’s moon Phoebe . Material is always flow from the rings toward Saturn in a stiff " ring rain . " This means Saturn ’s stunning ring will probably go away inas little as 100 million year .
This illustration shows the Cassini spacecraft above Saturn’s northern hemisphere (April 4, 2017).
What is Saturn made of?
Saturn ’s outmost layers are made from swirl gases — mostly hydrogen and helium . The control surface of Saturn also holds modest amount of water , ammonia and methane gas , but thesegases become liquidas pressures and temperature lift profoundly in the planet . Saturn is the least - impenetrable planet in the solar organisation , with an mean tightness less than that of piss , think it would float in a mammoth bathtub .
Saturn has a dim sum made of metals such as iron and nickel . This core is environ by jolting material . The next level contains limpid metallic hydrogen . Research hint Saturn ’s core is n’t a whole sphere like Earth ’s . Rather , it isa " fuzzy soup " made of rocks , shabu and metal fluids that squish around and affect the major planet ’s gravitative twist , which then influences the structure of its mammoth rings .
Saturn ’s atmosphereis made of 96 % hydrogen and 4 % helium , with small amounts of water , methane and ammonia . Saturn ’s malarky are far strong than those made byhurricanes on Earth , reaching an astounding 1,090 miles per hour ( 1,755 kilometer / h ) around the upper atmosphere in the middle of the planet . Saturn ’s clouds come in different shades of brown , yellow and grey , and they take shape a mysterious andstrange hexagon - shaped storm systemat the N pole . bolt of lightning think to be10,000 times more powerfulthan those on Earth can be seen on Saturn , too .
(Image credit: Roberto Machado Noa via Getty Images)
Have humans explored Saturn?
Four robotic probeshave natter Saturn . The Pioneer 11 space vehicle launched from Earth on April 5 , 1973 , and completed a flyby of the ring giant on Sept. 1 , 1979 .
NASA ’s Voyager 1 flew retiring Saturn in 1980 and , along with Voyager 2 , which reached the planet in 1981 , snapped nearly 16,000 images of Saturn , its rings and its moons . The two probe find three newfangled moons , canvass the ring scheme in particular , and collected data point about the planet ’s magnetic field and atmosphere .
The most in - depth subject area of Saturn was done by theCassini - Huygens mission , which launched from Earth in 1997 and attain the border gas pedal heavyweight in 2004 . The Huygens probe landed on Saturn ’s moon Titan in 2005 , becoming the first robot to reach the control surface of a moonlight in the kayoed solar organisation . Ittook awing photograph of sea , river channels and mountainsas it down . Cassini stay in domain around Saturn until Sept. 15 , 2017 , making a total of 294 reach before falling into the planet ’s atmosphere and breaking apart . ( scientist planned this clash on purpose . )
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
How many moons does Saturn have?
Saturn has more known moons than any other planet . With274 confirm moons , it has more than all of the other planets commingle . Its largest moon , Titan , is the second - self-aggrandizing moonlight in the solar system , after Jupiter ’s Ganymede . It ’s also larger than the planetMercury .
Titan is an incredible mankind wrap ina dense atmosphereof nitrogen and hydrocarbons . This guck forms a yellowish fog that ’s frigid — minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit ( minus 180 academic degree Celsius ) . Below that atmosphere are incredible natural characteristic , such as lake , seas and river of methane and ethane .
The largest sea on Titan is call Kraken Mare . Atmore than 1,000 feet(300 metre ) late , it is about as deep as New York City ’s Chrysler Building is improbable . Kraken Mare is so thick that Cassini ’s radar was unable to poke into all the way to the bottom . The moon ’s seasappear to be oddly unagitated , with wave less than one column inch high .
(Image credit: NASA/JPL)
Could there be life on Saturn?
Because of Saturn ’s extreme temperature , pressures and wind speeds , scientist thinkthe chance for lifeon the planet are slim . But some of the major planet ’s many lunar month may be fit for spirit , and they are major targets for geographic expedition .
With its thickheaded air and bodies of liquid on its surface , Titan is one of the best stead in the solar system to reckon for alien life . A out of sight sea of liquid weewee might sit below Titan ’s icy crust , and NASA has planned the Dragonfly missionary post to launch in 2028 andexplore the moonin more detail .
Another intriguing Saturn moon isEnceladus . It is environ by a frozen ice shell , and it has tall geysers of liquid piss that shoot out at 800 miles per hour ( 1,290 kilometer / h ) . Though Enceladus is tiny — just 313 mi ( 504 kilometer ) across — Cassini blot methanecoming from cracks known as tiger grade insignia near the moon ’s south rod . This is a possible hint that there may be life in the cloak-and-dagger sea , but the methane could also be amount from other chemical processes .
(Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)
Saturn ’s other moons hold surprises . For instance , Mimas — a little world with a cock-a-hoop crater that makes it face like the Death Star from " Star Wars " — might also havea trunk of liquid watertrapped beneath its outer ice .
Saturn pictures
Like Earth , Saturn hosts morning near its poles .
A series of range cut through the development of Saturn ’s elephantine tempest , as seen at visible wavelengths during much of 2011 .
This is a simulated image of Saturn ’s rings based on data from Cassini . The different people of color correspond dissimilar subatomic particle sizes throughout the rings .
(Image credit: Christophe Lehenaff via Getty Images)
The Cassini spacecraft ’s tv camera snapped this image of Saturn ’s moon Mimas on Oct. 16 , 2010 , show the enceinte Herschel crater .
With a skillful telescope , you may be able to fleck Saturn ’s rings from Earth . Here , Saturn and Jupiter are visible in the night sky through a telescope .
Discover more about Saturn
— What are Saturn ’s ring made of ?
— There ’s a weird , vanish dark spot on Saturn ’s lunation Enceladus
— 100 - yr - foresighted ' megastorms ' on Saturn are make wireless signaling that scientist ca n’t fully explain
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