Transcript Saturn
Saturn By: Zack and Kacey Some Facts. Sixth planet from the Sun Second largest planet, after Jupiter Named after Roman God ‘Saturn’ God of agriculture Famous for its rings Gas giant made up mostly of hydrogen and helium Lowest density of all the planets More and more. Diameter: 120,660 km. About 10 times larger than Earth Temperature: -178 degrees C Distance from Earth: 1190.4 million km Rotation of its axis: 10 hours, 40 min. Rotation around the Sun: 29.5 Earth years Continued. Has at least 62 moons Titan: Largest moon Pan and Atlas: Shaped like flying saucers Lapetus: Has one side as bright as snow and one side as dark as coal Enceladus: shows evidence of "ice volcanism" spewing out water and other chemicals Space Probes 1970s: NASA’s Pioneer 11 flyby visited Saturn 1980-81: visited again by Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft 1997: Cassini spacecraft launched July 2004: Cassini arrived on Saturn Saturn’s Rings Made of billions of ice particles Ranging from a few cm. to a few m. in size Thought that rings formed from larger moons that were shattered by impacts of comets and meteoroids Structure of rings due to gravitational effect of nearby satellites Rotation Saturn rotates faster than any other planet except Jupiter Causes Saturn to bulge at equator and flatten at poles QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Gravity Gravity on Saturn is about 1.08 times the gravity on Earth If you weigh 100 lbs on Earth you would weigh abut 108 lbs on Saturn QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Current Fact In search of a better understanding about Saturn’s rings, On Tuesday Jan. 11th the Cassini spacecraft passed within 69 kilometers (43 miles) of the surface of Rhea, which is Saturn’s icy moon. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Summary Second largest planet, after Jupiter Lowest density of all the planets Gravity on Saturn is about 1.08 times the gravity on Earth On Tuesday Jan. 11th the Cassini spacecraft passed within 69 kilometers (43 miles) of the surface of Rhea VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QcSC7PAQE Works Cited The Planet Saturn." Space Projects - Space Information - Space Shop. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://www.aerospaceguide.net/planetsaturn.html>. "Saturn L Saturn Facts, Pictures and Information." The Nine Planets Solar System Tour. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://nineplanets.org/saturn.html>. "Saturn, Sixth Planet from Sun & Second Largest in Solar System | Gas Giant, Saturn’s Rings, Jovian Planet | Space.com." Space, NASA Information & News | Outer Space Flight Videos & Pictures | Astronomy, Solar System Images | Space.com. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://www.space.com/48-saturn-the-solar-systems-major-ringbearer.html>. "Saturn." Views of the Solar System. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturn.htm>.