Table of Contents
SIZE OF THE EIGHT PLANETS
- Jupiter (69,911 km / 43,441 miles) – 1,120% the size of Earth
- Saturn (58,232 km / 36,184 miles) – 945% the size of Earth
- Uranus (25,362 km / 15,759 miles) – 400% the size of Earth
- Neptune (24,622 km / 15,299 miles) – 388% the size of Earth
- Earth (6,371 km / 3,959 miles)
- Venus (6,052 km / 3,761 miles) – 95% the size of Earth
- Mars (3,390 km / 2,460 miles) – 53% the size of Earth
- Mercury (2,440 km / 1,516 miles) – 38% the size of Earth
WHAT HAPPENED?
- The newly identified small moons, ranging from about 2 to 4 miles (3 to 6 km) in diameter, were detected using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii by a research team.
- Twenty new moons have been found around Saturn, giving the ringed planet a total of 82, scientists said.
- That beats Jupiter and its 79 moons.
MORE INFORMATION
- If it’s any consolation to the Jupiter crowd, our solar system’s biggest planet Jupiter still has the biggest moon. Jupiter’s Ganymede is almost half the size of Earth.
- By contrast, Saturn’s 20 new moons are minuscule, each barely 5km in diameter.
ABOUT SATURN
- Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture
- Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and the second-largest in the Solar System, is larger than the planet Mercury
SATURN’S MAJOR MOONS
- Dione
- Dione is thought to be a dense rocky core surrounded by water-ice. The tidally locked moon is heavily cratered not on its leading side but on its back side. Astronomers think a collision could have spun the moon on its axis. The moon hosts a thin oxygen atmosphere and may have a liquid ocean beneath its surface.
SATURN’S MAJOR MOONS
- Enceladus
- Enceladus contains more than 100 geysers at its south pole. Tidal heating causes portions of the icy planet to melt, spewing icy material into space from its “tiger stripes.” The tiny bits of ice travel together to create Saturn’s E ring. The satellite’s icy surface makes it one of the brightest objects in the solar system. The moon has a subsurface ocean that may be friendly to life.
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