Saturn Research Project

By Garrett, Casey, Matthew and Collin

Common name and mythological name/story

The common name for this planet is Saturn

Saturn was the Roman name for Cronus, the lord of the Titans in Greek mythology.

This planet that we know as Saturn because of Roman influence was called Khronos by the

Greeks. It was the outermost planet god/deity, and was considered to be the seventh of the

seven heavenly objects that are visible with the naked eye.

Saturn is also the root of the English word “Saturday”

Position, and distance from the Sun. Size compared to Earth

Saturn is about 1.4 billion km from the Sun or 891 million miles.

It is the sixth planet from the Sun and second largest planet behind Jupiter.

Saturn’s diameter is 120,536 km.

Revolution, Rotation in earth days & yearsThe rotation of Saturn is 10.2 earth hours but for a revolution it takes 29.4 earth years. The

atmosphere is 97% hydrogen, 3%helium, & 0.05% methane

Saturn’s Surface and ring’s Composition

Saturn is a giant planet made of gas but believed to have a rocky core the size of earth.It is

made of 94% hydrogen and 6% helium and small amounts of methane and and

ammonia.

Saturn’s rings are composed of millions of particles from grains of sand to mountain sized

chunks. These particles are dominantly composed of ice and water.

Man made satellites

Pioneer 11 was flowed in 1979, was the first to study saturn from a distance

Voyages 1 flewed by in 1980

Voyages 2 flewed by in 1981

The satellite was in 1997 called the Cassini

Number of natural satellites, and most prominent ones.

As of 2014 Saturn has 62 natural satellites.

Some of the most prominent moons are Titan, Dione, Enceladus, and Hyperion.

Travel time from earth and effects the sun has on Saturn

We have sent spacecraft into space to visit saturn and study the planet, the four ships have all came

back with different results for example Pioneer 11 took six and a half years to arrive. Voyager 1

took three years and two months, Voyager 2 took four years, and the Cassini spacecraft took six

years and nine months to arrive.

Saturn’s magnetosphere is the teardrop-shaped region of space around the planet where the

behaviour of charged particles, which come mostly from the Sun, is dominated by the

planet’s magnetic field rather than by interplanetary magnetic fields.

The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind from the sun

Saturn also has northern and southern lights, caused by particles from the sun.

Creation and formation theory of saturn About 4.6 million years a super nebula cause a vast cloud of cold gas which was disturbed and

then cause to form a sphere. The cloud compressed down, forming a protostar in the center,

surround by a flattened disk of material. The inner part of this disk contained more heavier

elements, and formed the terrestrial planets, while the outer region was cold enough for ices to

remain intact.

Theory: Dusk instability, clumps of dust and gas are bound together early in the life of the solar

system. Over time, these clumps slowly compact into a giant planet. These planets can form

faster than their core accretion rivals, sometimes in as little as a thousand years, allowing them

to trap the rapidly-vanishing lighter gases. They also quickly reach an orbit-stabilizing mass that

keeps them from death-marching into the sun.

More InfoSaturn, the sixth planet of our solar system is sometimes known as “The Jewel of the Solar

System”. It is a planet unlike any other and the wonderful rings makes Saturn makes it the

most beautiful planet. Let’s know some interesting facts about Saturn- the bejeweled planet.

Saturn is completely composed of gases and its density is lower than water. So, if you ever

build a tub big enough to contain Saturn and fill it in water then you can put Saturn in it and

watch it float.

More Things you probably didn't know about SaturnSaturn’s axis is tilted. So, when it goes around the Sun sometimes its rings are in complete

view and in full glory under sun’s radiation. But at other times these rings disappears

completely from our view. This happens only once in every 14 – 15 years. When the rings

disappear you can clearly see Saturn’s moons.

Dragon Storm is the name of a storm on Saturn which was at first observed in 2004 in the

mid-September. Dragon storm is a long lived storm in Saturn’s atmosphere that periodically

flares up and becomes bright enough to be observed

Citations "How Far Is Saturn from the Sun?" Universe Today. N.p., 17 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

http://www.space.com/48-saturn-the-solar-systems-major-ring-bearer.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/saturn.mythology.html

"Saturn Compared to Earth." Universe Today. N.p., 24 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

"Space and Astronomy News." Universe Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

Contributor, Nola Taylor Redd Space.com. "Saturn's Moons: Facts About the Ringed Planet's Satellites." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

http://www.universetoday.com/15312/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-to-saturn/

http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/124-How-many-spacecraft-have-been-to-Saturn-

http://www.space.com/48-saturn-the-solar-systems-major-ring-bearer.html