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Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture, who was the father of the god Jupiter.Its astronomical symbol has been traced back to the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri, where it can be seen to be a Greek kappa-rho ligature with a horizontal stroke, as an abbreviation for Κρονος (), the Greek name for the planet (). [35]
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.
The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
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 ...
Earth may have had a ring made up of a broken asteroid over 400 million years ago, a study finds. The Saturn-like feature could explain a climate shift at the time.
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.
Moons have come to exist around most planets and many other Solar System bodies. These natural satellites originated by one of three possible mechanisms: Co-formation from a circumplanetary disc (only in the cases of the giant planets); Formation from impact debris (given a large enough impact at a shallow angle); and; Capture of a passing object.
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