The sixth planet in our solar system is Saturn and it is the second, after Jupiter. It is one of the brightest planets that we can see from earth. It has been known since ancient times but in recent times the planet has caught the attention of the scientists with possible clues of liquid and life on its moons.
Saturn was the most distant planet and the one that moved more slowly around the Earth. It was observed directly for the first time by Galileo, but in 1659 scientists first observed the rings around the planet.
Saturn, like the rest of the planets that make up the solar system, keeps various mysteries. Scientists believe that it is the cooling of the matter in the cloud from which it is formed. Saturn kept its composition almost entirely cloudy.
Saturn’s orbit is nine times farther from the Sun than Earth’s. It orbits behind and is situated about 1,400 million kilometers from the Sun. The planet is 120,536 km in diameter and is flat at the poles.
Despite its enormous size, it is the least dense planet known.
What are the moons of Saturn
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Saturn has several moons, and in recent years more moons of the Saturn have been discovered. The largest of them is Titan, the second-largest moon in the solar system.
The Mystery of the Rings Around the Planet Saturn
The size of the particles that compose them can vary at different points. Some are microscopic while the largest can be several meters in diameter. They are organized in different regions of greater or lesser density, interacting with the gravity of the planet and its many moons.
Saturn’s rings can be several meters in diameter. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Saturn is its rings, which extend from 6,630 km to 120,700 km above its equator. They are composed of diverse particles filled with abundant ice water.
The Saturn atmosphere contains hydrogen mostly and helium as well. Clouds can be found on the planet’s surface. This composition gives it its yellowish to orange color, organized in various stripes similar to those of Jupiter.
Saturn does not have a defined surface and the atmosphere changes according to latitude, rotating in different periods.
Although the interior of the planet is difficult to know, it is observed by scientists that it has a rocky core, like Jupiter, surrounded by a layer of liquid hydrogen and then a gigantic cloudy atmosphere.
Some scientists believe that Saturn is amid very slow compression processes, which make it radiate more heat into space than it receives from the Sun. Recent probes witness the formation of large storms, which form observable white spots on their surface.
