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Here is a planet that everyone knows something about. Nearly anyone who has spent some time in school can recognize its because of its rings, but what else do you know about the Saturnian world? Do you know for instance what those famous rings are made of? Most people do not, so here at Universe Today we thought it would be fun to put together a bunch of articles with information about Saturn, then get a group of links together in one place to make all of them easier to find.
Hidden among the links below you will find interesting tidbits like:
Saturn’s rings are made of ice chunks and there is one at least on of Saturn’s moons or moonlets in each ring. Some of the chunks of ice are as old as Saturn, while others crash into each other, break apart, and then reform repeatedly each year.
No one is sure how long a day is on Saturn. The clouds in its atmosphere are too think to make a direct observation of its surface, so scientists have to rely on radio emissions from the planet’s core. These are unreliable, so the best estimate that we have is a day that lasts from 10 hours and 39 minutes to one that is 10 hours 46 minutes. Either way, school or work would be a lot shorter there. Anyone game for moving?
While we are talking about moving, how long will it take us to get there? That depends on a few things like: where Earth and Saturn are in their orbits, propulsion system, and what are we taking. For the shortest route we would want to launch when the planets are at aphelion(hoping they would be there again close to arrival). Using the newest propulsion systems and designing a craft large enough to accommodate our needs for 1 year, it would take a minimum of 6 years and 9 months to arrive in orbit. Then how long it would take to find a suitable landing zone on a planet that no one has ever seen the surface of is anyone’s guess. Any way you look at it, that is still a lot of ‘Are we there yet?’.
- How Long is a Day on Saturn?
- Why are Saturn’s Rings Disappearing?
- Symbol for Saturn
- What are Saturn’s Rings Made Of?
- What is Saturn Made Of?
- Does Saturn Have a Solid Core?
- How Long is a Year on Saturn
- Diameter of Saturn?
- How Far is Saturn from Earth?
- How Long Does it Take to Get to Saturn?
- Discovery of Saturn
- Size of Saturn
- Density of Saturn
- Gravity on Saturn
- What is the Closest Planet to Saturn?
- Color of Saturn
- Temperature of Saturn
- Seasons on Saturn
- Is there Water on Saturn?
- How Old is Saturn?
- Is There Life on Saturn?
- Mass of Saturn
- Storms on Saturn
- Radiation on Saturn
- Formation of Saturn
- Formation of Saturn’s Rings
- History of Saturn
- Tilt of Saturn
- Missions to Saturn
- Rings of Saturn
- Saturn for Kids
- Interesting Facts About Saturn
- What is the Second Biggest Planet in the Solar System?
- Saturn in a Telescope
- Atmosphere of Saturn
- Surface of Saturn
- Saturn Hexagon
- Name of Saturn
- Saturn Compared to Earth
- Rotation of Saturn
- Orbit of Saturn
- How Many Rings Does Saturn Have?
- How Big is Saturn?
- How Long Does it Take Saturn to Orbit the Sun?
- Saturn’s Distance from the Sun
- When was Saturn Discovered?
- Who Discovered Saturn?
- Saturn Fact Sheet
- The Sound of Saturn’s Rings
- Saturn’s Rings
- E-Ring
- Circumference of Saturn
- How Far is Saturn from the Sun in Miles?
- Planet Saturn Image Collection
- Why Does Saturn Have Rings?
- Hexagon on Saturn
About Fraser Cain
Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay.
