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Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, [134] and in early recorded history it was a major character in various mythologies. Babylonian astronomers systematically observed and recorded the movements of Saturn. [135] In ancient Greek, the planet was known as Φαίνων Phainon, [136] and in Roman times it was known as the "star of ...
Pioneer 11 image of Saturn. Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 11 in September 1979. It flew within 20,000 kilometres (12,000 mi) of the top of the planet's cloud layer. Low-resolution images were acquired of the planet and a few of its moons; the resolution of the images was not good enough to discern surface features.
Artist's conception of the giant impact thought to have formed the Moon. Jupiter and Saturn have several large moons, such as Io, Europa, Ganymede and Titan, which may have originated from discs around each giant planet in much the same way that the planets formed from the disc around the Sun. [88] [89] [90] This origin is indicated by the ...
Saturn – 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 . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Although only one-eighth the average density of Earth, with its larger volume Saturn is just over 95 times more massive.
1979 – Pioneer 11 flies by Saturn, providing the first ever closeup images of the planet and its rings. It discovers the planet's F ring and determines that its moon Titan has a thick atmosphere. [199] 1979 – Goldreich and Tremaine postulate that Saturn's F ring is maintained by shepherd moons, a prediction that would be confirmed by ...
Determining the length of a single day on a planet is usually pretty easy. You just pick a landmark and wait for it to reach the exact same point twice in its rotation and you have your answer ...
Titan’s surface has a temperature of minus 290 degrees, experts say. Clouds and ‘seasonal weather’ exist on Saturn’s ‘Earthlike’ moon Titan, NASA says Skip to main content
All planets in the Solar System, plus their major moons along some asteroids and comets, have now been visited to varying degrees by spacecraft launched from Earth. Through these uncrewed missions, humans have been able to get close-up photographs of all the planets and, in the case of landers, perform tests of the soils and atmospheres of some.