Saturn - Planetary rings

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. It is a gas giant, the second-largest planet in the solar system after Jupiter. Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting of mostly ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris. It was named after the Roman god Saturn. Its symbol is a stylized representation of the god's sickle (Unicode: ♄). The Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese cultures refer to the planet as the earth star (土星), based on the Five Elements. [2], [3] Including:

• Saturn - Physical characteristics
• Saturn - Rotational behavior
• Saturn - Planetary rings
• Saturn - History
• Saturn - Physical characteristics
• Saturn - Dark side of the rings
• Saturn - Spokes of the rings
• Saturn - Natural satellites
• Saturn - Exploration of Saturn
• Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby
• Saturn - Voyager flybys
• Saturn - Cassini orbiter
• Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn
• Saturn - Appearance
• Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100
• Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film
• Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

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Saturn is probably best known for its planetary rings, which make it one of the most visually remarkable objects in the solar system. Saturn - History. The rings were first observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with his telescope, but he was unable to identify them as such. He wrote to the Duke of Tuscany that "Saturn is not alone but is composed of three, which almost touch one another and never move nor change with respect to one another. They are arranged in a line parallel to the zodiac, and the middle o ...

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Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Planetary rings

Saturn is probably best known for its planetary rings, which make it one of the most visually remarkable objects in the solar system. Saturn - History. The rings were first observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with his telescope, but he clearly did not know what to make of them. He wrote to the Duke of Tuscany that "Saturn is not alone but is composed of three, which almost touch one another and never move nor change with respect to one another. They are arranged in a line parallel to the zodiac, and the mi ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Planetary rings

Saturn is an oblate spheroid. It is flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator; its equatorial and polar diameters vary by almost 10% (120,536 km vs. 108,728 km). This is the result of its rapid rotation and fluid state. The other gas planets are also oblate, but to a lesser degree. Saturn is also the only one of the Solar System's planets less dense than water, with an average specific density of 0.69. This is only an average value, however; Saturn's upper atmosphere is less dense ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Physical characteristics

Since Saturn does not rotate on its axis at a uniform rate, two rotation periods have been assigned to it (as in Jupiter's case): System I has a period of 10 h 14 min 00 s (844.3°/d) and encompasses the Equatorial Zone, which extends from the northern edge of the South Equatorial Belt to the southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt. All other Saturnian latitudes have been assigned a rotation period of 10 h 39 min 24 s (810.76°/d), which is System II. System III, based on radio emissions from the planet, has a period of 10 h 39 min 22.4 s (810.8°/d); because it is very close in val ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Rotational behavior

Saturn has a large number of moons. The precise figure will never be certain as the orbiting chunks of ice in Saturn's rings are all technically moons, and it is difficult to draw a distinction between a large ring particle and a tiny moon. Seven of the moons are massive enough to have collapsed into a spheroid under their own gravitation. These are compared to Earth's moon in the table below. Saturn's most ...

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Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Natural satellites

Chinese and Japanese culture designate the planet Saturn as "Earth Star". This is based on Five Elements which was traditionally used to classify natural elements. In Hebrew, Saturn is called 'Shabbathai'. Its Angel is Cassiel. Its Intelligence, or beneficial spirit, is Agiel (layga), and its spirit (darker aspect) is Zazel (lzaz). See: Kabbalah. ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

While it is a rewarding target for observation for most of the time it is visible in the sky, Saturn and its rings are best seen when the planet is at or near opposition (the configuration of a planet when it is at an elongation of 180° and thus appears opposite the Sun in the sky.) In the opposition on January 13, 2005, Saturn appeared at its brightest until 2031, mostly due to a favourable orientation of the rings relative to the Earth. Saturn appears to the naked eye in the night sky as a bright, yellowish star varying usually bet ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

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Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby. Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 11 in September 1979. It flew within 20,000 km of the planet's cloudtops. Low-resolution images were acquired of the planet and few of its moons. Resolution was not good enough to discern surface features, however. The spacecraft also studied the rings; among the discoveries were the thin F-ring and the fact that dark gaps in the rings are bright when viewed towards the Sun, or in other words, they are not empty of material. It also measured the temperature of Titan. [9] < ...

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Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures, Saturn - Reference, Saturn - Special characters

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Exploration of Saturn

Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby. Saturn was first visited by Pioneer 11 in September 1979. It flew within 20,000 km of the planet's cloudtops. Low-resolution images were acquired of the planet and few of its moons. Resolution was not good enough to discern surface features, however. The spacecraft also studied the rings; among the discoveries were the thin F-ring and the fact that dark gaps in the rings are bright when viewed towards the Sun, or in other words, they are not empty of material. It also measured the temperature of Titan. [9] < ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Exploration of Saturn

Saturn's shape is visibly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator (an oblate spheroid); its equatorial and polar diameters vary by almost 10% (120,536 km vs. 108,728 km). This is the result of its rapid rotation and fluid state. The other gas planets are also oblate, but to a lesser degree. Saturn is also the only one of the Solar System's planets less dense than water, with an average specific density of 0.69. This is only an average value, however; Saturn's upper atmosphere is less dense ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Physical characteristics

Since Saturn does not rotate on its axis at a uniform rate, two rotation periods have been assigned to it, like in Jupiter's case: System I has a period of 10 h 14 min 00 s (844.3°/d) and encompasses the Equatorial Zone, which extends from the northern edge of the South Equatorial Belt to the southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt. All other Saturnian latitudes have been assigned a rotation period of 10 h 39 min 24 s (810.76°/d), which is System II. System III, based on radio emissions from the planet, has a period of 10 h 39 min 22.4 s (810.8°/d); because it is very close in val ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Rotational behavior

Chinese and Japanese culture designate the planet Saturn as "Earth Star". This is based on Five Elements which was traditionally used to classify natural elements. In Hebrew, Saturn is called 'Shabbathai'. Its Angel is Cassiel. Its Intelligence, or beneficial spirit, is Agiel (layga), and its spirit (darker aspect) is Zazel (lzaz). See: Kabbalah. ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

While it is a rewarding target for observation for most of the time it is visible in the sky, Saturn and its rings are best seen when the planet is at or near opposition (the configuration of a planet when it is at an elongation of 180° and thus appears opposite the Sun in the sky.) In the opposition on January 13, 2005, Saturn appeared at its brightest until 2031, mostly due to a favourable orientation of the rings relative to the Earth. Saturn appears to the naked eye in the night sky as a bright, yellowish star varying usually bet ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn

Saturn has a large number of moons. The precise figure will never be certain as the orbiting chunks of ice in Saturn's rings are all technically moons, and it is difficult to draw a distinction between a large ring particle and a tiny moon. Seven of the moons are massive enough to have collapsed into a spheroid under their own gravitation. These are compared to Earth's moon in the table below. Saturn's most noteworthy moon is Titan, the only moon in the solar system to have a dense atmosphere. (Pronunciation key) Due to the tid ...

See also:

Saturn, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Rotational behavior, Saturn - Planetary rings, Saturn - History, Saturn - Physical characteristics, Saturn - Dark side of the rings, Saturn - Spokes of the rings, Saturn - Natural satellites, Saturn - Exploration of Saturn, Saturn - Pioneer 11 flyby, Saturn - Voyager flybys, Saturn - Cassini orbiter, Saturn - Best viewing of Saturn, Saturn - Appearance, Saturn - Occultation of stars by Saturn between 1800 and 2100, Saturn - Saturn in fiction and film, Saturn - Saturn in various cultures

Read more here: » Saturn: Encyclopedia II - Saturn - Natural satellites