Saturn: interesting facts, characteristics of the planet. Interesting facts about Saturn, its rings and moons Interesting facts about Saturn for children in brief
Image of Saturn from the Cassini interplanetary station
1. Saturn is the second largest planet in the world after. This planet was named after the Roman god of agriculture.
2. Saturn is a type of gas planet: it consists mainly of gases and does not have a solid surface. This planet is mainly composed of hydrogen, with admixtures of helium and traces of water, methane, ammonia and heavy elements.
Saturn and Earth (photomontage)
3. The planet's mass is more than 95 times that of . However, Saturn's average density is only 0.687 g/cm3, making it the only planet in the Solar System whose average density is less than that of water.
4. The average distance between Saturn and is 1430 million kilometers. The average distance to Earth varies from 1195 to 1660 million kilometers.
5. Very strong winds blow on Saturn, the speed of which can reach 1800 km/h. This is much larger than Jupiter, which is home to the largest atmospheric vortex in the solar system, the Great Red Spot. The wind speed inside the spot is about 500 km/h.
6. There are 62 satellites orbiting Saturn, 53 of which have names. The largest of them, Titan, is superior in size and has the only dense atmosphere among the satellites of the planets of the Solar System. Its atmosphere is 1.5 times denser than Earth's.
7. Titan is the only body, besides the Earth, for which the stable existence of liquid on the surface has been proven. Scientists believe that the conditions on this satellite are similar to those that existed on our planet 4 billion years ago, when life was just beginning on Earth.
Hexagon on Saturn
8. Saturn is experiencing an unusual atmospheric phenomenon that has never been observed anywhere else in the solar system. The clouds at the north pole of this planet form a giant hexagon, which, according to the theory, is a vortex. The dimensions of this hexagon are so vast that four Earths could fit inside it.
9. The mass of Saturn's core is approximately 9 to 22 Earth masses.
10. All four gas giants have rings (Jupiter, Saturn, and), but Saturn has the most prominent ones. These rings, consisting mainly of ice, are very thin - with a diameter of about 250,000 kilometers, they are less than a kilometer thick.
11. A year on Saturn lasts 29 Earth years or 10,759 days.
12. The first spacecraft to fly past Saturn was Pioneer 11. It was launched in 1973, and in 1979, Pioneer 11 flew near this planet for the first time in history.
Saturn's moons and rings
13. The size of the particles of material that make up Saturn's rings very rarely reaches several meters. In general, the size of these particles varies from ≈ 0.001 mm to several centimeters.
14. Saturn's atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium.
15. Twice every 29 years, Saturn’s rings are not visible at all when observed from Earth—the human eye sees only the “edge” of the rings, which can barely be seen with a powerful telescope.
16. Saturn is 9 times wider than the Earth - its radius is 58.232 kilometers.
17. The interplanetary station Voyager 1, whose tasks included the study of Jupiter and Saturn, is currently the most distant object from Earth created by man.
18. A day on Saturn lasts only 10.3 hours.
19. About once every 30 years, a super-powerful hurricane known as the Great White Spot appears on Saturn. This atmospheric formation, reaching a size of several thousand kilometers, can be seen through a telescope from Earth by its characteristic appearance in white.
20. In 2008, the cameras of the interplanetary station "" received images of the north pole of Saturn, on which astronomers discovered the likes of which had never been observed in the Solar System. They are a new type of aurora that forms a ring around one of the planet's poles.
The small dot is Earth as seen from Saturn's orbit. Image from the Cassini interplanetary station, 2013
The universe is full of mysteries, as evidenced by interesting facts about the planet Saturn- a celestial body named after the long-time ruler of the Titans - Kronos.
- The planet's shape resembles an oblate ball. Saturn acquired this shape as a result of rapid rotation around its axis. A day here lasts only 10.7 hours. Due to such intense rotation, the planet flattens itself.
- The celestial body has a huge number of satellites (63). Scientists claim that some of them have the necessary conditions for life.
- Saturn has a developed system of rings, each of which has a bright and dark side. However, the inhabitants of the Earth have the opportunity to see exclusively the bright side. From our planet, the rings seem to disappear from time to time. This is due to the fact that only the edges of the rings are visible when tilted. According to modern theories, the rings were formed as a result of the destruction of Saturn's moons.
- If you imagine that the Sun is the size of a front door, then Saturn will resemble a basketball. In this case, the Earth will be the size of an ordinary coin.
- The planet is mainly composed of helium and hydrogen gases. It has almost no hard surface.
- If you put Saturn in water, it can float like a ball.. This is possible because the density of the planet is 2 times less than that of water.
- All rings have names that correspond to letters of the Latin alphabet. They received their names in the order in which they were discovered.
- Scientists around the world are actively studying Saturn. To this day, 5 missions have visited there. The first spacecraft visited this site in 1979. Since 2004, the study of the features of the celestial body has been carried out using a spacecraft called Cassini.
- 40% of all satellites in the Universe revolve around Saturn. Among them there are both regular and irregular satellites. The orbits of the first ones are quite close to the planet, the others are located far away. They were captured recently. The moon Phoebe is located farthest from the planet.
- Astronomers hypothesize that Saturn influenced the structure of the solar system. Due to the action of its gravity, the planet managed to throw Uranus and Neptune aside. However, for now this is just an assumption for which evidence needs to be found.
- The pressure of the atmosphere of the planet Saturn exceeds that of Earth by 3 million times. On this gas planet, hydrogen is compressed into a liquid and then a solid state. If a person gets there, he will immediately be flattened by atmospheric pressure.
- The planet is characterized by northern lights. It was captured by a spacecraft near the North Pole. A similar phenomenon could not be detected on any other planet.
- Bad weather is constantly raging on Saturn. There is a strong wind blowing there, which at times turns into a hurricane. Local hurricanes are similar in their course to terrestrial ones. Only they appear much more often. During hurricanes, giant spots that resemble funnels form. They can be seen from space.
- Saturn is considered the most beautiful planet. The beauty of Saturn is ensured by the delicate blue color of the surface and bright rings. By the way, you can see this celestial body from Earth without any optical instruments. The brightest star in the sky is Saturn.
- The planet emits 2 times more energy than it receives from the Sun. Due to its remote location, very little solar energy reaches Saturn. It is 91 times less than what the Earth receives. At the bottom of the planet's clouds, the air temperature is only 150K. According to scientific hypotheses, the source of internal energy can be the energy released as a result of gravitational differentiation of helium.
Saturn is famous not only for being the most distant planet from us that can be seen with the naked eye, but also for its amazing rings. If we forget about Mars for a second, it will become clear that Saturn, more than other celestial bodies, has given us all sorts of conspiracy theories, mystical legends and incredible scientific hypotheses. (website)
Even in ancient times, this planet occupied the most important position from the point of view of superstition, and today, when probes fly to Saturn, the madness of scientific and not-so-scientific theories is only increasing more and more. We will introduce you to the 10 most interesting of them.
Colossal Hexagon on Saturn
When the American Voyager flew near Saturn in the 80s, it noticed a bizarre hexagon in the polar regions of this planet. To say that NASA was amazed by its find is an understatement. The structure seemed to scientists to be absolutely artificial, calibrated to an ideal shape. When, 20 years later, Cassini approached Saturn and received even better images of the anomaly, people of science were even more puzzled. No one can still say where the hexagon came from there. Ufologists suggest that this is evidence of the current or past presence of intelligent beings on Saturn.
Artificial radio waves coming from Saturn
The aforementioned Cassini automatic interplanetary station also unexpectedly detected strange radio waves coming from the atmosphere of Saturn. They were indistinguishable to the human ear, but the equipment clearly caught and recorded them. NASA specialists converted the mysterious sound into an audible range and stated that, despite all its mystery, the waves are most likely of natural origin. But Jost Van Dyke, a British expert on digital sound, easily caught patterns in the impulses, saying that these signals could not have been born on their own. ?..
Saturn is a former star
Many former peoples considered Saturn a luminary and revered it like the Sun. For example, ancient Babylonian manuscripts say that Saturn is the so-called “ghost of the Sun.” The Mayan Indians argued that the sun that we see in the sky today is the second, and the first was Saturn, which almost went out. Writer David Talbott published the book “The Ancient God of Light,” in which he noted the obvious connection between the Sun and Saturn, which was once seen by many peoples. Is it possible that the second largest celestial body of our planetary system was once a star, and now it is only a “sleeping” gas giant?
Immanuel Velikovsky's theory about the heat of Saturn
When the Belarusian alternative researcher Immanuel Velikovsky published the book “Worlds in Collision” in 1950, he immediately came under aggressive attacks from official scientists. However, years passed, and the Belarusian’s words turned out to be true. Thus, Velikovsky argued that Saturn is capable of producing heat, being independent of the Sun. This absurd, at first glance, statement was later confirmed. Saturn actually generates its own heat. This, according to some experts, may indirectly confirm the hypothesis that once in ancient times this planet was a star.
The Flood was caused by Saturn
Velikovsky believed that the Flood was not only real, but also happened due to the fault of the planet being described. According to the researcher, Saturn and Jupiter were once components of a double star system. Having come extremely close to each other at a certain moment, they caused a stellar explosion, which placed the celestial bodies in our planetary system in their current places, and also launched a chain of events that resulted in a record flood on Earth. Thus, powerful perturbations and tidal effects in the atmosphere of our planet provoked an unprecedented natural disaster described in the Bible and many other ancient manuscripts.
Saturn is Nibiru
Rumor has it that somewhere in space the mysterious Nibiru, or Planet X, is rapidly moving, capable of destroying all life on Earth. Someday, they say, it will approach us at a critically short distance, and then humanity will come to an end. The Sumerians also had a legend about a huge ball that would descend from the heavens and lead to numerous disasters and deaths. It is noteworthy that, according to the legends of the ancient people, this ball has wings. Could we be talking about Saturn with its rings? By the way, even clouds of oxides entering the atmosphere of a gas giant can give it a striking winged appearance.
Saturn is a giant powerhouse
Flying over Saturn, Voyager 2 detected a steady crackling sound caused by nothing more than powerful bursts of electricity. Further research by NASA determined that Saturn's rings produce colossal amounts of energy. These charges are 10 thousand times stronger than earthly lightning, for example, each of them produces power at least several times more than the largest power plant on Earth. Scientists have not yet found an exact explanation for this phenomenon. Some alternative researchers hypothesize that it is actually a colossal space power plant created by an alien civilization.
Saturn serves aliens for radio broadcasting and creation of the “Matrix”
What do you think of the theory that Saturn acts as a radio broadcasting system for representatives of an extraterrestrial civilization? English writer and researcher David Icke claims that this large-scale broadcasting system not only sends signals to our planet, but also creates the so-called “Matrix” - an illusory reality in which humanity lives. The Briton writes that the Moon serves as a searchlight for aliens, amplifying signals from Saturn. Ike also repeatedly said that the powers that be are well aware of this and therefore will never allow the general public to know the truth about the planets around us, about the great secret of the solar system and space as a whole. Why? It’s very simple: a mass of people zombied by religion on the one hand and pseudoscience on the other is easier to control...
Many human symbols are associated with Saturn
The same David Icke states that earthlings have a suspiciously large number of symbols associated with Saturn. Many logos belonging to famous brands and companies, one way or another, depict this planet with rings. For example, "Toyota", "Nike", "Boeing", "Internet Explorer", "Axis Media Group" and so on. Even the exchange of wedding rings, which dates back to ancient times, is a kind of veneration of Saturn, according to some experts. And among occultists and adherents of magic - both white and black - the number of symbols associated with this mysterious planet is completely impossible to count.
What does Saturn have to do with the black cube conspiracy?
Even the name Satan may have the same root as Saturn. And in ancient times, many believed in the deity El, who was associated with Saturn and designated with a special sign in the form of a black cube. Such symbols can still be found on the walls of banks, gold vaults, political administrations and religious buildings. Conspiracy theorists are convinced that the world's elites still revere the planet Saturn as something powerful, incomprehensible and potentially dangerous. And someone will even tell you that the rich, politicians and clergy worship Satan himself, with whose name this fantastic and, undoubtedly, mystical planet is associated.
>> Interesting facts about Saturn
Planet Saturn - interesting facts about the planet of the solar system: mysterious rings, information about life on satellites, what spacecraft saw with photos.
Saturn is a fascinating astronomical object. Its gigantic ring system, as well as its rich family of satellites, amazes us. But these are not the only features that may interest you. We present to your attention a selection the most interesting facts about Saturn.
The density of the planet Saturn is only 0.687 g/cm 3 . Therefore, not only is it the least dense planet in our system, but it can also float in water! Of course, you'll have to get a giant bathtub.
The axial rotation is performed at such a rapid speed that the planet turns into an oblate spheroid. Because of this, expansion is observed in the equatorial line. If the distance between the poles is 54,000 km, then the equatorial distance is 60,300 km. A similar thing happens on Earth, but in the giant it is more noticeable.
Galileo noticed Saturn with a telescopic instrument in 1610. But when looking at the rings, he did not understand what he was encountering, so he thought that there were two moons in front of him. It was only in 1655 that Christian Huygens used improved technology and saw a narrow, flat ring, as well as the moon Titan.
Yes, only 4 missions visited this planet. In 1979 there was Pioneer 11, which flew at a distance of 20,000 km. In 1980 - Voyager 1, and a year later - Voyager 2. Cassini was the only one to enter orbit in 2004.
These are large and small moons. Titan is the second largest in the system. But many of the companions are very tiny, who don’t even have names. In fact, they were only found a couple of years ago. And there is an opinion that their number is much greater.
Calculating axial rotation is extremely difficult. The point is that there is no hard surface here. Usually it is enough to catch your eye on the crater and notice how long it takes for it to return to its original point. But there's gas here! Scientists had to focus on the rotation of the magnetic field. It takes 10 hours and 14 minutes. Cassini's flyby took 10 hours and 45 minutes. The average day lasts 10 hours, 32 minutes and 35 seconds.
They may have appeared with the planet 4.54 billion years ago. Or they were formed after. Everything could have happened recently when a 300-kilometer icy moon ruptured. Material could have been pulled from an early protoplanetary disk. Scientists note that the material appears too pure, so they may be younger than 100 million years.
Interesting facts about Saturn cannot ignore the situation with the periodic disappearance of the rings. In fact, they move away for a while. The fact is that the planet rotates under an axial tilt. We can observe its 30-year orbital progression from our position. And from time to time the rings are open to us, and in some locations they disappear. This will happen again in 2024-2025.
If you want to find a planet, you can do this without using magnifying equipment. But to display the rings and satellites you will need a telescope. In a normal view it will seem like a bright star.
It is impossible to live on Saturn, because its conditions kill all living things. But there are many satellites nearby, for example, Enceladus.
The Cassini spacecraft managed to detect the presence of glacial geysers on the satellite. This means there is a process that keeps the satellite warm and allows liquid water and possible life to be present. We hope that the planet Saturn and its interesting facts have sparked your imagination and encouraged you to study the rest of the planets in the solar system.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun, belonging to the group of gas giants. It is named after the Roman god Saturn and is the second largest after Jupiter. An interesting fact is that this planet was the last to be discovered by ancient astronomers.
Thanks to its pronounced rings, Saturn is one of the most beautiful celestial bodies in the world.
At the same time, today the planet Saturn is less studied than all its fellows. Although scientists are soon planning to expand their knowledge about this planet through the new space project Cassini.
It is worth noting that, in contrast to Saturn, one of the most studied planets is. Not long ago, a famous engineer and inventor set out to study Mars even more.
In one of his interviews, he stated that by 2025 a human foot will certainly set foot on its surface.
Despite all this, overall Saturn has the lowest density compared to the other 8 planets.
Internal structure of Saturn According to astronomers' calculations, the density of this planet is less than that of water. Theoretically, if we could throw Saturn into water, it would float on its surface like a soccer ball.
Orbit and rotation
One year on it lasts about 10,759 Earth days, that is, almost 30 years. This planet makes one revolution around its axis in 10 hours and 34 minutes, which is only slightly inferior to the rotation speed of Jupiter.
Rings of Saturn
Thanks to its rings, Saturn has gained great popularity among people as even children know about this interesting fact. But what are these rings made of?
It turns out that the ring system consists of trillions of ice fragments and other space objects. The fact is that ice perfectly reflects light, as a result of which we can clearly see the rings of Saturn.
Interestingly, experts still cannot determine their exact origin. According to the official version, the rings arose as a result of the disintegration of one of Saturn's moons.
One way or another, they are kept in orbit thanks to the gravitational force of the planet Saturn.
- The total mass of Saturn and Jupiter accounts for more than 90% of the mass of all planets in the solar system.
- Experts believe that Saturn was first discovered by the ancient Babylonians.
- In Roman mythology, Saturn is represented as the father of Jupiter, the king of the gods.
- An interesting fact is that Saturn emits more heat than it receives from the Sun.
- Since Saturn has a huge rotation speed on its axis and a gaseous atmosphere, it is considered the most oval of the 8 planets. Its equatorial diameter is 10% larger than the polar one.
- Saturn is sandy in color because its upper atmosphere is made up of ammonia particles.
- Despite the fact that Saturn belongs to the group of gas giants, experts suggest that inside it there is a very solid core surrounded by helium and hydrogen.
- Saturn has about 150 moons covered in ice. Interestingly, Titan, one of its moons, has methane lakes, and most of the surface is covered with liquid nitrogen.
