This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Saturn (disambiguation).

Saturn

Saturn in natural color, photographed by

Cassini in July 2008, approaching equinox. The little white dot in
the bottom left corner is Titan.
Designations
Pronunciation
Adjectives

/strn/[1]

Saturnian, Cronian
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch J2000.0

Aphelion

10.086 AU
(1,509 Gm)

Perihelion

9.024 AU
(1,350 Gm)

Semi-major axis

9.554909 AU
(1,429.39 Gm)[2]

Eccentricity

0.05555

Orbital period

29.4571 yr
10,759.22 d
24,491.07 Saturnian solar
days[3]

Synodic period

378.09 days[4]

Average orbital speed

9.69 km/s[4]

Mean anomaly

317.020

Inclination
2.485240 to ecliptic
5.51 to Sun's equator
0.93 to invariable plane[5]
Longitude of

113.665

ascending node
Argument of perihelion

339.392

Known satellites

62 with formal designations;

innumerable additional moonlets.[4]
Physical characteristics

Mean radius

58,2326 km[6][a]

Equatorial radius
60,2684 km[6][a]
9.4492 Earths
Polar radius
54,36410 km[6][a]
8.5521 Earths
Flattening

0.097960.00018

Surface area
4.271010 km2[a][7]
83.703 Earths
Volume
8.27131014 km3[4][a]
763.59 Earths
Mass
5.68361026 kg[4]
95.159 Earths
Mean density

0.687 g/cm3[4][a]
(less than water)

Surface gravity
10.44 m/s[4][a]
1.065 g
Moment of inertia factor

0.210[8] (estimate)

Escape velocity

35.5 km/s[4][a]

Sidereal rotation period

10.55 hours[9]
(10 hr 33 min)

Equatorial
rotation velocity

9.87 km/s[a]
35,500 km/h

Axial tilt

26.73 (to orbit)[4]

North pole right

ascension

2h 42m 21s
40.589[6]

North pole declination

83.537[6]

Albedo
0.342 (Bond)

0.47 (geometric)[4]
Surfacetemp.

min

mean

max

1barlevel

134K(139C)[4]

0.1bar

84K[4]

Apparent magnitude

+1.47 to 0.24[10]

Angular diameter

14.5 to 20.1[4]
(excludes rings)
Atmosphere[4]

Scale height
Composition by volume

59.5 km
by volume:
96%
3%
0.4%
0.01%
0.01%
0.0007%

hydrogen(H2)
helium(He)
methane(CH4)
ammonia(NH3)
hydrogendeuteride(HD)
ethane(C2H6)

Ices:

ammonia (NH3)

water (H2O)

ammonium
hydrosulfide (NH4SH)

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System,
after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth.[11]
[12]
Although it has only one-eighth the average density of Earth, with its larger volume Saturn
is just over 95 times more massive.[13][14][15] Saturn is named after the Roman god of
agriculture; its astronomical symbol () represents the god's sickle.
Saturn's interior is probably composed of a core of ironnickel and rock
(silicon and oxygen compounds). This core is surrounded by a deep layer of metallic
hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and finally outside
the Frenkel line a gaseous outer layer.[16] Saturn has a pale yellow hue due
to ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen
layer is thought to give rise to Saturn's planetary magnetic field, which is weaker than Earth's,

but 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. [17] The outer atmosphere is
generally bland and lacking in contrast, although long-lived features can appear. Wind
speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h (500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter, but not as high as
those on Neptune.[18]
Saturn has a prominent ring system that consists of nine continuous main rings and three
discontinuous arcs and that is composed mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of
rocky debris and dust. Sixty-two[19] moons are known to orbit Saturn, of which fifty-three are
officially named. This does not include the hundreds of moonlets comprising the rings. 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.[20]
Contents
[hide]

1Physical characteristics

1.1Internal structure

1.2Atmosphere

1.3Magnetosphere

2Orbit and rotation

3Natural satellites
o

3.1Planetary rings
4History of observation and exploration

4.1Ancient observations

4.2European observations (17th19th centuries)

4.3Modern NASA and ESA probes

5Observation

6In culture

7See also

8Notes

9References

10Further reading

11External links

Physical characteristics

Composite image roughly comparing the sizes of Saturn and Earth

Saturn is a gas giant because it is predominantly composed of hydrogen and helium ('gas'). It
lacks a definite surface, though it may have a solid core. [21] Saturn's rotation causes it to have
the shape of an oblate spheroid; that is, it is flattened at the poles and bulges at its equator.
Its equatorial and polar radii differ by almost 10%: 60,268 km versus 54,364 km, respectively.
[4]
Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, the other giant planets in the Solar System, are also oblate
but to a lesser extent. Saturn is the only planet of the Solar System that is less dense than
waterabout 30% less.[22] Although Saturn's core is considerably denser than water, the
average specific density of the planet is 0.69 g/cm3 due to the atmosphere. Jupiter has
318 times the Earth's mass,[23] while Saturn is 95 times the mass of the Earth.[4] Together,
Jupiter and Saturn hold 92% of the total planetary mass in the Solar System. [24]
On 8 January 2015, NASA reported determining the center of the planet Saturn and its family
of moons to within 4 km (2.5 mi).[25]

Internal structure

Diagram of Saturn, to scale.

Despite consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium, most of Saturn's mass is not in
the gas phase, because hydrogen becomes a non-ideal liquid when the density is above
0.01 g/cm3, which is reached at a radius containing 99.9% of Saturn's mass. The
temperature, pressure, and density inside Saturn all rise steadily toward the core, which
causes hydrogen to transition into a metal in the deeper layers.[24]
Standard planetary models suggest that the interior of Saturn is similar to that of Jupiter,
having a small rocky core surrounded by hydrogen and helium with trace amounts of
various volatiles.[26] This core is similar in composition to the Earth, but more dense.
Examination of Saturn's gravitational moment, in combination with physical models of the
interior, allowed French astronomers Didier Saumon and Tristan Guillot to place constraints
on the mass of Saturn's core. In 2004, they estimated that the core must be 922 times the
mass of the Earth,[27][28] which corresponds to a diameter of about 25,000 km.[29] This is
surrounded by a thicker liquid metallic hydrogen layer, followed by a liquid layer of heliumsaturated molecular hydrogen that gradually transitions to a gas with increasing altitude