Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus (the Titan father of Zeus) the Babylonian Ninurta and to the Hindu Shani. Saturn's symbol represents the god's sickle (Unicode: ♄).
Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant. Together, these four planets are sometimes referred to as the Jovian, meaning "Jupiter-like", planets. Saturn has an average radius about nine-times larger than Earth's. While only one-eighth the average density of Earth, due to its larger volume, Saturn's mass is just over ninety-five times greater than Earth's.
Because of Saturn's large mass and resulting gravitation, the conditions produced on Saturn are extreme. The interior pressures and temperatures are beyond what can be reproduced experimentally on Earth. The interior of Saturn is likely composed of a core of iron, nickel, silicon and oxygen compounds, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and an outer gaseous layer. Electrical current within the metallic-hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is slightly weaker than Earth's magnetic field and approximately one-twentieth the strength of the field around Jupiter. The outer atmosphere is generally bland in appearance, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h, significantly faster than those on Jupiter.
Saturn has nine rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty-two known moons orbit the planet, fifty-three are officially named. This is not counting hundreds of "moonlets" within the rings. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to possess a significant atmosphere.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Like Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, it is a "gas giant".
The inside of Saturn is probably a core of iron, nickel, silicon and oxygen compounds, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, then a layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium and finally, an outer gaseous layer.
Saturn has 62 known moons orbiting the planet; 53 are officially named. The largest moon is Titan, which is larger in volume than the planet Mercury. Titan is the second-largest moon in the Solar System. The largest moon is Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. Also around Saturn there is a very large system of rings, made of ice with smaller amounts of rocks and dust. Saturn is about 1,400,000,000 km (869,000,000 mi) from the Sun. In the time it takes Saturn to complete one orbit of the Sun, or one Saturn year, the Earth has orbited 29.6 times, or 29.6 years on Earth.
Saturn was named after the Roman god Saturnus (called Kronos in Greek mythology). Saturn's symbol is ♄ which is the symbol of Saturnus' sickle.
Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved. Planet Saturn.