The planet Saturn

Saturn planet

Today we return to astronomy. After analyzing the characteristics of our solar systemWe have started by describing all the planets one by one. We saw that Mercury it was the closest planet to the sun, Jupiter the largest in the solar system and Mars it could harbor life. Today we will focus on the Planet Saturn. One of the two largest planets and famous for the asteroid ring. It is a planet that can easily be viewed from Earth.

Do you want to know all the secrets of Saturn? Read on and find out.

Key features

Saturn

Saturn is a particular planet. For scientists it is considered one of the most interesting planets to know of the entire solar system. It highlights that it has a density much lower than that of water and it is composed entirely of hydrogen, with a little helium and methane.

It belongs to the category of gas giants and has a rather peculiar color that makes it stand out from the rest. It is somewhat yellowish and within it small bands of other colors are combined. Many confuse it with Jupiter but they are not at all related to each other. They are clearly differentiated by the ring. Scientists presume that their rings are made of water, but solid like icebergs, mountains of ice or some snowballs combined with some type of chemical dust in particular.

Already in 1610 the wind surrounding the planet Saturn was discovered thanks to Galileo and the telescope. In that discovery it was learned that the winds that blow around do so at incalculable speeds of how fast they are. The most important of all this and shocking for those who know it, is that it only takes place on the planet's equator.

What is the interior and atmosphere of Saturn like?

Saturn Moon

Unlike other planets in the solar system, Saturn's density is less than that of water on our planet. The structure is composed entirely of hydrogen. In the center of the planet, the existence of several fundamental elements of it can be verified. It is about heavy elements that make up solid structures that the planet contains as it does that a small group of rocks is grouped or grouped rocks are formed in it. These rocks they can reach temperatures of about 15.000 degrees.

Together with Jupiter it is considered not only the two largest planets in the solar system, but also the hottest.

As for its atmosphere, it is composed of hydrogen. There are other elements of which it is composed and it is necessary to know as much as possible all the possible elements to know the characteristics that the planet may have as a whole.

The rest of the elements have small doses. It's about methane and ammonia. There are also other different amounts of gases that intervene in conjunction with the main elements such as ethanol, acetylene and phosphine. These are the only gases that have been able to be studied by physicists, although it is known that it is not the only composition.

Saturn's rings extend into the planet's equatorial plane from 6630 km to 120 km above Saturn's equator and they are composed of particles with abundant ice water. The size of each of the particles varies from microscopic dust particles to rocks a few meters in size. The high albedo of the rings shows that they are relatively modern in the history of the solar system.

Moons and satellites

Saturn's atmosphere

Among all these fascinating characteristics that make Saturn such an interesting planet to know, we must also highlight the satellites of which it is composed. So far 18 satellites have been recognized and named by expert physicists in the field. This gives the planet greater relevance and versatility to it. To get to know them better, we are going to name some of them.

The best known are the so-called Hyperion and Iapetus, which are totally made up of water inside them but are so solid that they are presumed to be fundamentally frozen or in the form of ice respectively.

Saturn has both inner and outer satellites. Among the internals there are the most significant ones in which is the orbit called titan. It is one of the largest moons of Saturn, although it cannot be easily seen as it is surrounded by dense orange fog. Titan is one of the moons that is basically made up of almost entirely nitrogen.

The interior of this moon is made up of carbon hydroxide rocks, methane among other chemical elements similar to the general planet as it is. The quantities are usually the same and at most they would say, even in the same sizes.

Observation from Earth

Satellites and moons of Saturn

As we have said before, it is a planet that can be easily observed from our planet. It can be seen in the sky most of the time with any type of hobbyist telescope. Its observation is best when the planet is close or in opposition, that is, the position of a planet when it is at an elongation of 180 °, so it appears opposite the Sun in the sky.

It can be seen perfectly in the night sky as a point of light that does not flicker. It is bright and yellowish and takes approximately 29 XNUMX/XNUMX years to complete one full translation revolution in its orbit with respect to the background stars belonging to the zodiac. For those who want to distinguish the rings of Saturn, they will need a telescope of at least 20x so that it can be seen clearly.

As for their sighting from space, three American spacecraft have traveled to see the exterior and atmosphere of Saturn. The ships were called Pioneer 11 probe and Voyager 1 and 2. These spacecraft flew over the planet in 1979, 1980 and 1981, respectively. To obtain accurate and quality information, they carried instruments to analyze the intensities and polarizations of radiation in the visible, ultraviolet, infrared and radio wave spectrum.

They are also equipped with instruments for the study of magnetic fields and for the detection of charged particles and dust grains.

I hope that with this information you will get to know the planet Saturn better.


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