Transcript Saturn Steven Qiang

Saturn
Steven Qiang
Specifications
6th Planet from the Sun
1,426,666,422km from the Sun; 1,277,068,191km from Earth
Average radius:58,232 km
Mass:5.68319x1026 kg
Volume≈827,129,915,150,897 km3; 8.2713 x 1014 km
Density:0.687 g/cm3 (floats on water)
Length of day:10.656 hours
Length of year≈29.451 Earth years
Moons: At least 150; 53 named.
Date of Discovery: unknown
Discovered by: unknown
Orbital inclination: 2.49 degrees
Axial tilt: 26.73˚
Gravity: 10.4 m/s2; 1.065g
(distances not to scale)
Atmosphere
≈96.3% Hydrogen (H)
≈3.25% Helium (He)
0.4% methane (CH4)
0.01% ammonia (NH2)
0.01% Hydrogen deuterium (H-D; D=2H)
0.0007% ethane (C2H6)
...among others
Ices:
ammonia (NH2)
water (H2O)
ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH)
Temperature:
Ammonia cloud layer:-173˚C to -113˚C
Water Ice layer:-88˚C to -3˚C
Lower Layers: Up to 57˚C
Average:-288˚C
Flyability
Atmosphere slightly denser than Earth’s
Weaker gravity; a bit more than Earth’s
MUCH colder; -288˚C
Fairly good for flying, minus the temperatures, not as
good as Earth
Titan
Atmosphere is thicker
Very light gravity; gravity lower than the moon’s
Still freezing, at 72 Kelvins (-201.15˚C; ≈the temperature of liquid nitrogen)
Low gravity allows for human-powered flight, almost better than Earth
Ring System
Best known and most famous ring system
Many small particles of ice, water, and rocky materials
3 main sections
A ring; Outermost ring
B ring; Largest and Brightest
Faint ring system between the A ring and the
B ring
Rings date to the formation of Saturn itself
•
•
•
Moons
At least 150 moons, 62 discovered
53 named
Largest and most famous is Titan
Others include Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Hyperion
Vary drastically in size, texture, age, and origin
(moon sizes are to scale)
Missions
Pioneer 11 Flyby
Voyager 1 and 2 flyby
Cassini-Huygens: SOI; Saturn Orbit Insertion
Bibliography
"Saturn Fact Sheet." Saturn Fact Sheet. NASA, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
"Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview." Solar System Exploration: Planets: Saturn: Overview. NASA,
n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
"Jet Propulsion Laboratory." Cassini Solstice Mission. NASA, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
"Cassini Mission." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
"Jet Propulsion Laboratory." Cassini Solstice Mission: Saturn's Moons. NASA, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.
Munroe, Randall P. "Interplanetary Cessna." Interplanetary Cessna. Xkcd, n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013.