Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is a gas giant, the second-largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. Saturn has large rings made mainly out of ice and space debris. It was named after the Roman god Saturn. Its symbol is a stylized representation of the god's sickle (Unicode: ♄).

Physical characteristics

Saturn's shape is visibly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator (an oblate spheroid); its equatorial and polar diameters vary by almost 10% (120,536 km vs. 108,728 km). This is the result of its rapid rotation and fluid state. The other gas planets are also oblate, but not so much so. Saturn is also the only one of the Solar System's planets less dense than water, with an average specific density of 0.69. This is only an average value, however; Saturn's upper atmosphere is less dense and its core is considerably more dense than water.

Saturn's interior is similar to Jupiter's, having a rocky core at the center, a liquid metallic hydrogen layer above that, and a molecular hydrogen layer above that. Traces of various ices are also present. Saturn has a very hot interior, reaching 12000 K at the core, and it radiates more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Most of the extra energy is generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism (slow gravitational compression), but this alone may not be sufficient to explain Saturn's heat production. An additional proposed mechanism by which Saturn may generate some of its heat is the "raining out" of droplets of helium deep in Saturn's interior, the droplets of helium releasing heat by friction as they fall down through the lighter hydrogen.

Saturn's atmosphere exhibits a banded pattern similar to Jupiter's, but Saturn's bands are much fainter and they're also much wider near the equator. Saturn's cloud patterns were not observed until the Voyager flybys. Since then, however, Earth-based telescopy has improved to the point where regular observations can be made. Saturn exhibits long-lived ovals and other features common on Jupiter; in 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope observed an enormous white cloud near Saturn's equator which was not present during the Voyager encounters and in 1994 another, smaller storm was observed.

Saturn's rings

Saturn is probably best known for its famous planetary rings. They were first observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with his telescope, but he clearly did not know what to make of them. He wrote to the Grand Duke of Tuscany that "Saturn is not alone but is composed of three, which almost touch one another and never move nor change with respect to one another. They are arranged in a line parallel to the zodiac, and the middle one [Saturn itself] is about three times the size of the lateral ones [the edges of the rings]." He also described Saturn as having "ears." In 1612 the plane of the rings was oriented directly at the Earth and the rings appeared to vanish, and then in 1613 they reappeared again, further confusing Galileo.

The riddle of the rings was not solved until 1655 by Christiaan Huygens, using a telescope much more powerful than the ones available to Galileo in his time.

In 1675 Giovanni Domenico Cassini determined that Saturn's ring was actually composed of multiple smaller rings with gaps between them; the largest of these gaps was later named the Cassini Division.

The rings can be viewed using a quite modest modern telescope or with a good pair of binoculars. They extend from 6,630 km to 120,700 km above Saturn's equator, and are composed of silica rock, iron oxide, and ice particles ranging in size from specks of dust to the size of a small automobile. There are two main theories regarding the origin of Saturn's rings. One theory, originally proposed by Édouard Roche in the 19th century, is that the rings were once a moon of Saturn whose orbit decayed until it came close enough to be ripped apart by tidal forces (see Roche limit). A variation of this theory is that the moon disintegrated after being struck by a large comet or asteroid. The second theory is that the rings were never part of a moon, but are instead left over from the original nebular material that Saturn formed out of. This theory is not widely accepted today, since Saturn's rings are thought to be unstable over periods of millions of years and therefore of relatively recent origin.

See rings of Saturn for a list of the planet's rings.

The dark side of the rings

Compare images from Cassini-Huygens in March 2004, to a view from the Pioneer 11 spacecraft:

The side of Saturn's rings that is lit by the Sun looks very different to the backlit side, which is darker. From Earth, we cannot appreciate this because the Earth cannot view Saturn from an angle that displays the backlit side of the rings, and our only views of it are from spacecraft. In late 2004, the NASA Cassini spacecraft will show us our first view of the backlit side in 25 years.

The spokes of the rings

Until recently, the structure of the rings of Saturn was explained exclusively as the action of gravitational forces. However as soon as 'spokes' were found, there was an assumption that they are connected to electromagnetic interaction, as they rotate almost synchronously with the magnetosphere of Saturn.

Exploration of Saturn

Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 11 in 1979 and the following two years by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. The Cassini-Huygens orbiter and probe has arrived to study Saturn and its moon Titan. The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft achieved orbit on July 1, 2004, after executing a complicated maneuver called SOI (Saturn Orbit Insertion). Additional details on the mission can be found http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Program releases the "latest" images every Friday at http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/

Saturn's moons

Main article: Saturn's natural satellites

Saturn has a large number of moons (34 are currently known or suspected), 30 of which have names. The precise figure will never be certain as the orbiting chunks of ice in Saturn's rings are all technically moons, and it is difficult to draw a distinction between a large ring particle and a tiny moon. Saturn's most noteworthy moon is Titan, the only moon in the solar system to have a dense atmosphere.

Due to the tidal forces of Saturn, the moons are currently not at the same position as they were when they were first formed.

For a timeline of discovery dates, see Timeline of natural satellites.

Best viewing of Saturn

File:Saturnoppositions.png

Saturn Oppositions: 2001-2029

Saturn and its rings are best seen when the planet is at or near opposition (the configuration of a planet when it is at an elongation of 180° and thus appears opposite the Sun in the sky.)

**Saturn's Opposition Periods 2001–2005**
Date of Opposition	Distance to Earth (AU)	Angular diameter
December 3, 2001	8.08	20.6 arcsec
December 17, 2002	8.05	20.7 arcsec
December 31, 2003	8.05	20.7 arcsec
January 13, 2005	8.08	20.6 arcsec

The opposition on January 13, 2005 will result in Saturn appearing brightest from Earth till 2031. Its rings will also be as wide open as they get providing the best opportunity to view them. A small telescope is required to observe Saturn.

Saturn in fiction and film

Saturn is a popular setting for science fiction novels and films, although the planet tends to be used as a pretty backdrop rather than as an important part of the plot.

In Arthur C. Clarke's novel version of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), a spacecraft visits the Saturnian system. Clarke's later novel Imperial Earth (1976) takes place partially at a human colony on Titan.
Stephen Baxter's novel Titan is focused on the moon Titan, but contains vivid depictions of a journey through the Saturnian system.
Ben Bova's novel Saturn (2003) is about a spacecraft travelling toward the planet, although Saturn itself does not figure greatly in the story.
In Isaac Asimov's short story The Martian Way, Martian colonists use a chunk of ice from Saturn's rings to bring water to the dry world.
Douglas Trumbull's film Silent Running (1972) features an ark-like spacecraft travelling through the Saturnian system.
The film Saturn 3 (1980) is mostly set on one of Saturn's moons, but also features a journey through the planet's rings.
Kurt Vonnegut's novel The Sirens of Titan is partly set on Saturn's best known moon.
Tim Burton's film Beetlejuice is partly set on a fictional Saturn, populated by giant sandworms.