PLANET SATURN

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Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest of all after Jupiter. Saturn is also a Gas Giant like Jupiter and has a radius of about 9 and a half times that of the Earth, while its average density is only one-eighth of the Earth. However with its larger volume, Saturn is over 95 times more massive. Saturn is named after the Roman God of Wealth and Agriculture.


Saturn's interior is most likely composed of a core of iron-nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds). Its core is covered with a thick layer of metalic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium and finally a gaseous outer layer. In its upper atmosphere, Saturn has a pale yellow mark due to ammonia crystals present there. An electric current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than the Earth's, but which has a magnetic moment 580 times that of Earth due to Saturn's larger size. Saturn's magnetic field strength is around one-twentieth of Jupiter's.

The most attractive and beautiful thing about Saturn is the ring system around it. The ring is composed of ice particles, which are smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Till now we knew that 82 moons are rotating Saturn of which 53 are officially named. Titan, largest moon of Saturn and second largest in 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.

Physical Characteristics

Saturn is a gas giant composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; no presence of a solid surface. Rotation of the planet is result of its flat egg shaped surface, this is the reason that it is flat along its poles and bulge along its equator. It's a core tutorial and polar radii differ by almost 10%; 60,268 km vs 54,364 km. The combination of bulge and rotation rate means that the effective surface gravity along the equator, 8.96 m/s², is 74% of what it is at the poles and is lower than the surface gravity of Earth. However, equatorial escape velocity of nearly 36 km/s is much higher than that of Earth.

Saturn is the only planet in the Solar System which is less dense than even water– around 30% less. While its core is much denser than water, due to gaseous environment average specific density of the planet is 0.69gm/cm³. Jupiter has 318 times Earth's mass, and Saturn is 95 times Earth's mass. Together, Jupiter and Saturn hold 92% of the total planetary mass in the Solar System.


Saturn is considered as a gas giant but actually it's not. Planet predominantly composed of hydrogen which can be a non-ideal liquid when the density is above 0.01gm/cm², which is reached at a radius containing 99.9% of Saturn's mass. The temperature pressure and density inside Saturn alri steadily towards the core, which causes hydrogen to be a metal in the deeper layers. 

Standard Planetary Models tells that like Jupiter, Saturn also has a solid core made of rocks and is covered with hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of various volatiles, which is similar to Earth in formation, but is more dense. The examination of Saturn's gravitational moment, the combination with physical models of the interior has, allowed constraints to be placed on the mass of Saturn's core. In 2004, scientists estimated that the core must be 9–22 times the mass of Earth which corresponds to a diameter of about 25,000 km. 

Atmosphere

The outer atmosphere of Saturn consists of 96.3% molecular hydrogen and 3.25% of helium. This volume of helium is very low in proportion to the helium present in Sun's atmosphere. The quantity of element heavier than helium is not known precisely, but the proportions are assumed to match the primordial abundances from the formation of the Solar System. The total mass of these heavier elements is estimated to be 19–31 times the mass of the Earth, with a significant fraction located in Saturn's core region.



Cloud Layers

The composition of Clouds varies with depth and increasing pressure. Upper cloud layer has a temperature ranging between 100–160K, the clouds consists of ammonia ice. Water ice clouds began where the temperature ranges from 185–270 K. Intermixed in this layer is a band of ammonium hydrosulfide ice, lying in the temperature range of 190–235 K. Finally the lower layer, where the temperature is 270–330 K, contains reason of water droplets with ammonia in aqueous solution.

Magnetic Field

Saturn has an intrinsic magnetic field that has a simple symmetric shape – a magnetic dipole. Its strength at the equator is approximately one-twentieth of that of the field around Jupiter and slightly weaker than Earth's magnetic field. As a result Saturn's magnetosphere is much smaller than jupiter's. When Voyager 2 entered the magnetosphere extended only 19 Saturn radii, or 1.1 million km (712000 mi), although it enlarged within several hours, and remained so for about 3 days. Most probably, the magnetic field is generated similarly to that of Jupiter — by currents in the liquid metallic- hydrogen layer called a metallic- hydrogen dynamo.
 


Natural Satellites

Saturn has 82 known moons till now, 53 of which are officially named.  In addition, there is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40–500 metres in Saturn's rings, which are not considered to be true moons. Titan, the largest moon, comprises more than 90% of the mass in Orbit around Saturn, including the rings. Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, may have a tenuous ring system of its own, along with a tenuous atmosphere.
Many of the other moons are small: 34 less than 10 km in diameter and another 14 between 10 and 50 km in diameter. Titan is the only satellite in the Solar System with a major atmosphere, in which a complex organic chemistry occurs. It is the only satellite with hydrocarbon lakes.

Planetary Rings

Saturn is probably best known for the system of rings around it. These planetary rings makes it visually unique. The particles that make up the rings range in size from specks of dust up to 10 m. While the other gas giants also have ring systems, Saturn's is the largest and most visible. The rings extend from 6,630 to 120,700 km (4,120 to 75,000 mi). 

Here are some important figures related to the Planet Saturn: 

1. Surface temperature: No solid surface

2. Distance from Sun:  1.4875 billion km (886 million mi)

3. Diameter: 1,16,460 km (72,368 mi)

4. Gravity: 10.44m/s²

5. Solar day: 10hrs. 42mins

6. Solar Year: 29 Earth years
 
7. Satellites: 82 known moons

8. Surface Area: 4.27*10¹⁰km²

9. Volume: 8.2713*10¹⁴km³

10. Mass: 5.68*10²⁶kg

11. Density: 0.687gm/cm³



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