Table of Contents
SATURN
In terms of size it is the second largest planet after Jupiter Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture
NOTES
- Mercury is the god of commerce, travel and thievery in Roman mythology. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.
- Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The planet is aptly named since it makes a beautiful sight in the sky, with only the Sun and the Moon being brighter.
- Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, many other names for our planet in other languages.
NOTES
- Mars is the Roman god of War.
- Jupiter was the King of the Gods in Roman mythology, making the name a good choice for what is by far the largest planet in our solar system.
- Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god.
- Neptune, was the Roman god of the Sea.
SATURN
Saturn is not the only planet in our solar system with rings – Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also has rings
WHY DO ALL GAS GIANT PLANETS HAVE RINGS?
The outer planets (Jovian planets or gas giants) are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The outer planets all have rings but you can only see Saturn’s because Saturn’s ring reflect on the sun and Saturn has the biggest ring in the whole solar system which is 175,000 miles, that is about three quarters from our planet to our moon. Outer planets have rings because they are far away from the sun where there is more debris
SATURN
THE ROCHE LIMIT
The Roche Limit is the distance from the centre of the celestial body where the tidal forces are so strong that any other celestial body approaching this distance would get deformed instantly and the varying orbital speed would cause it to form a ring around the body.
NOTES
Saturn’s rings are mostly chunks of water ice ranging in size from microscopic dust grains to boulders several yards (metres) across. The rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn’s magnetic field. At this rate, the Saturn’s rings are likely to disappear in the next 100 million years. This is relatively short, compared to Saturn’s age of over 4 billion years
SATURN OTHER FACTS
- Saturn has at least 62 moons
- Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and the second-largest in the Solar System, is larger than the planet Mercury, although less massive, and is the only moon in the Solar System to have a substantial atmosphere. (Jupiter’s moon GANYMEDE is the largest natural satellite of any planet in the solar system)
EXPLORATION OF SATURN
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