Known Space   --   Sol   --  

Saturn


Out from Jupiter is Saturn, the lord of the rings. Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system and, like Jupiter, is a gas giant. Its mass is 95 times that of Earth in a volume 760 times as large.

Saturn's most spectacular feature is its ring system. From 3,000 km above the the equator, the rings extend out 420,000 km. The rings are made of thousands of ringlets (like grooves on a phonograph) composed of particles of ice and rock. These particles range in size from dust specks to house-size.

Saturn radiates more energy than it receives from the Sun: heavier helium separates from hydrogen in the interior, turns to drops, and sinks generating friction. Saturn has a relatively small, molten rocky core imbedded in a ball of water and ammonia. This is surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen, which in turn is surrounded by a layer liquid molecular hydrogen. Above this lies a 1,000 km thick 'atmosphere' similar to Jupiter's.

The colorful bands of Saturn are from a churning cloud layer (about 150 km thick) composed of ammonia crystals, ammonium hydrosulfide crystals, and water and ice droplets. These clouds are constantly being ripped apart by jet winds of super-hurricane strength. It has been likened to a boiling kettle of colored dyes that cannot be made to blend.

Like the Earth, Saturn has a magnetic field but (as expected) it is far more intense. The magnetic field extends out some 1 million km and is of lethal intensity. It is 1000 times stronger than the Earth's, or 20 times weaker than Jupiter.

Although not as violent as Jupiter, Saturn is none-the-less not a peaceful planet.


Orbital Distance:   9.008 AU - 10.069 AU (average 9.539 AU)
Eccentricity:       0.056
Local Year:         10,759.20 days (29.46 years)
Orbital Velocity:   9.6 km/s (average)
Inclination:        2.489°
Local Day:          0.426 day (10h 13m 59s)
Axial Tilt:         26.733°

Diameter:           120,536 km (cloud tops)
Composition:        n/a
Density:            0.71 g/cm3
Mass:               5.69 x 1020 tonnes (95.17 earths)
Gravity:            1.16 G
Escape Velocity:    32.26 km/s
Area:               15,215 million km2
Surface Material:   n/a
Atmosphere:         Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, and methane
Pressure:           Up to 3,000,000 atm
Albedo:             0.61
Temperature:        -150° C (cloud tops)

 


Satellite        Distance       Month         Day   Diameter
Pan            133,600 km     0.570 d     0.570 d      0.002
Atlas          137,670 km     0.602 d     0.602 d      0.003
Prometheus     139,350 km     0.613 d     0.613 d      0.008
Pandora        141,700 km     0.629 d     0.629 d      0.007
Epimetheus     151,420 km     0.694 d     0.694 d      0.009
Janus          151,470 km     0.695 d     0.695 d      0.014
Mimas          185,540 km     0.942 d     0.943 d      0.031
Enceladus      238,040 km     1.370 d     1.370 d      0.039
Tethys         294,670 km     1.888 d     1.888 d      0.082
Telesto        294,670 km     1.888 d     1.888 d      0.002
Calypso        294,670 km     1.888 d     1.888 d      0.002
Dione          377,420 km     2.737 d     2.738 d      0.088
Helene         377,420 km     2.737 d     2.737 d      0.003
Rhea           527,040 km     4.518 d     4.513 d      0.120
Titan        1,221,860 km    15.945 d    15.969 d      0.404
Hyperion     1,481,100 km    21.277 d    21.319 d      0.023
Iapetus      3,561,300 km    79.331 d    79.920 d      0.113
Phoebe      12,954,000 km   550.400 d   523.541 d      0.017

 


Ring      Distance from Saturn  
D Ring    67,000 km - 71,000 km
C Ring    73,200 km - 87,500 km
B Ring    92,200 km - 117,500 km
A Ring   121,000 km - 136,800 km
F Ring          140,600 km
G Ring          170,000 km
E Ring   180,000 km - 480,000 km

 

FAQ - Astronomical Glossary


Copyright © 1996 Trisen Games