Categories: Astronomy

Mass of Saturn

The mass of Saturn is 5.6846×1026 kg. Just for a comparison, this is 95 times the mass of the Earth.

Saturn is much larger than Earth; its equator spans 9.4 times the size of our home planet. And yet, it’s much less dense. In fact, Saturn has such a low density that it would actually float on water if you could find a pool large enough.

And so, even though it’s much larger and more massive than Earth, if you could actually stand on the “surface of Saturn” – which you can’t, there’s no surface – you would only feel 91% of gravity that we feel here on Earth.

Here’s an article from Universe Today explaining just how big planets can get, and an article about how Jupiter and the other gas giants might have gobbled up their moons while they were forming.

Here’s Hubblesite’s News Releases about Saturn, which has more info about the ringed planet, and NASA’s Solar System Exploration guide.

We have recorded two episodes of Astronomy Cast just about Saturn. The first is Episode 59: Saturn, and the second is Episode 61: Saturn’s Moons.

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay. Here's a link to my Mastodon account.

Recent Posts

Two Stars in a Binary System are Very Different. It's Because There Used to be Three

A beautiful nebula in the southern hemisphere with a binary star at it's center seems…

7 hours ago

The Highest Observatory in the World Comes Online

The history of astronomy and observatories is full of stories about astronomers going higher and…

7 hours ago

Is the JWST Now an Interplanetary Meteorologist?

The JWST keeps one-upping itself. In the telescope's latest act of outdoing itself, it examined…

8 hours ago

Solar Orbiter Takes a Mind-Boggling Video of the Sun

You've seen the Sun, but you've never seen the Sun like this. This single frame…

9 hours ago

What Can AI Learn About the Universe?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning have become ubiquitous, with applications ranging from data analysis, cybersecurity,…

9 hours ago

Enceladus’s Fault Lines are Responsible for its Plumes

The Search for Life in our Solar System leads seekers to strange places. From our…

1 day ago