Brief description of the planet Saturn. Temperature on the planets of the solar system

Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system and the sixth planet from the Sun. Saturn, just like Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune, are gas giants. The planet got its name in honor of the god of agriculture.

To a large extent, the planet consists of hydrogen, with minor impurities of helium and traces of methane, water, ammonia and heavy elements. As for the inner part, it is a minor core of nickel, iron and ice, covered with a gaseous outer layer and a small layer of metallic hydrogen. The outer atmosphere appears homogeneous and calm when viewed from space, although long-term formations are sometimes traced. Saturn has a planetary magnetic field, which is intermediate in strength between the powerful field of Jupiter and the magnetic field of the Earth. The wind speed on the planet can reach up to 1800 km / h, which is much higher than on Jupiter.

Saturn has a conspicuous ring system that is mainly composed of ice particles with less dust and heavy elements. At the moment, 62 known satellites revolve around Saturn. The largest of these is Titan. Among all the satellites, it is the second largest (after Ganymede).

Orbiting Saturn, there is an automatic interplanetary station called Cassini. Scientists launched it back in 1997. And in 2004 it reached the Saturn system, the tasks of which include the study of the structure of the rings and the dynamics of the magnetosphere and atmosphere.

Name of the planet

The planet Saturn was named after the Roman god of agriculture. Later he was identified with the leader of the Titans - Kronos. Since the titan Kronos devoured his children, he was not popular among the Greeks. Among the Romans, the god Saturn was held in high esteem and respect. According to an ancient legend, he taught humanity to cultivate the land, build houses and grow plants. The times of his supposed reign are spoken of as the "golden age of mankind", celebrations were organized in his honor, which were called Saturnalia. Slaves during these celebrations received freedom for a short time. In Indian mythology, the planet corresponds to Shani.

The origin of Saturn

It is worth noting that the origin of Saturn is explained by two main hypotheses (just like with Jupiter). According to the "concentration" hypothesis, the similar composition of Saturn and the Sun lies in the fact that these celestial bodies have most of the hydrogen. As a result, the low density is explained by the fact that at the initial stages of the development of the solar system, massive "condensations" were formed in the gas-dust disk, which gave rise to the planets. It turns out that the planets and the Sun were formed in a similar way. But be that as it may, this hypothesis does not explain the differences in the composition of the Sun and Saturn.

The accretion hypothesis says that the formation of Saturn consisted of two stages. At first, for two hundred million years, there was a process of formation of solid dense bodies, which resembled the planets of the terrestrial group. During this stage, some of the gas dissipated from the regions of Saturn and Jupiter, which in the future affected the difference in the chemical compositions of the Sun and Saturn. After that, stage 2 began, during which the largest bodies were able to reach twice the mass of the Earth. For several hundred thousand years, the process of accretion of gas onto these bodies from the primary protoplanetary cloud took place. The temperature at the second stage of the outer layers of the planet reached 2000 ° C.

Saturn among other planets

As mentioned above, Saturn is one of the gaseous planets: it does not have a solid surface and mainly consists of gases. The polar radius of the planet is 54 400 km, the equatorial radius is 60 300 km. Among the rest of the planets, Saturn has the greatest compression. The weight of the planet exceeds the mass of the Earth by 95.2 times, but its average density is less than that of water. Although the masses of Saturn and Jupiter differ by more than three times, their equatorial diameters differ by only 19%. As for the density of the rest of the gas planets, it is significantly higher and amounts to 1.27-1.64 g / cm3. Acceleration free fall along the equator - 10.44 m / s2, which is comparable to that of Neptune and Earth, but much less than that of Jupiter.

Rotation and orbital characteristics of Saturn

The average distance between the Sun and Saturn is 1,430 million km. Moving at a speed of 9.69 km / s, the planet revolves around the Sun in 29.5 years (10,759 days). The distance from Saturn to our planet varies from 8.0 AU. e. (119 million km) to 11.1 a. e. (1660 million km), the average distance during the period of their opposition is about 1280 million km. Jupiter and Saturn are in almost exact resonance 2: 5 to the Sun at aphelion and perihelion is 162 million km.

The differential rotation of the planet's atmosphere is similar to the rotation of the atmospheres of Venus and Jupiter, as well as the Sun. A. Williams was the first to discover that the rotation speed of Saturn can change not only in depth and latitude, but also in time. An analysis of the rotation variability of the equatorial zone over 200 years has shown that the main contribution to this variability is made by the annual and semiannual cycles.

The atmosphere and structure of Saturn

The upper atmosphere is 96.3% hydrogen and 3.25% helium. There are impurities of ammonia, methane, ethane, phosphine and some other gases. In the upper part of the atmosphere, ammonia clouds are more powerful than Jupiter's, while the clouds in the lower part are composed of water or ammonium hydrosulfide.

According to Voyager data, strong winds blow on the planet. The devices managed to register the wind speed of 500 m / s. Mostly they blow eastward. Their strength weakens simultaneously with the distance from the equator (western atmospheric currents may appear). Studies have shown that atmospheric circulation can take place in the upper cloud layer, but also at a depth of up to 2000 km. Moreover, according to the measurements of Voyager 2, it became known that the winds in the northern and southern hemispheres are symmetrical about the equator. There is an assumption that symmetric flows have a connection under the layer of the visible atmosphere.

Sometimes stable formations appear in the atmosphere of Saturn, which are super-powerful hurricanes. Exactly the same objects can be traced on the rest of the gaseous planets of the solar system. Approximately 1 time in 30 years on Saturn appears the "Great White Oval", which in last time seen in 2010 (smaller hurricanes form more often).

During storms and storms, strong lightning strikes are observed on Saturn. The electromagnetic activity caused by them fluctuates over the years from almost complete absence to super-powerful electrical storms.

The Cassini apparatus on December 28, 2010 photographed the storm that resembled cigarette smoke. Another strong storm was recorded by astronomers on May 20, 2011.

Internal structure

Temperature and pressure rise in the depths of the planet's atmosphere, and hydrogen turns into a liquid state, but this transition is gradual. At a depth of 30 thousand km, hydrogen becomes metallic (3 million atmospheres - pressure). The magnetic field is created by the circulation of electric currents in metallic hydrogen. It is not as powerful as Jupiter's. In the central part of the planet there is a powerful core made of heavy and hard materials - metals, silicates and presumably ice. Its weight is approximately 9 to 22 masses of our planet. The core temperature is 11,700 ° C. It should also be noted that the energy emitted by Saturn into space is two and a half times the energy it receives from the Sun. A significant part of this energy is generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism. At the time when the temperature drops, the pressure in it decreases accordingly, it decreases, and the energy turns into heat. But such a mechanism cannot act as the only source of energy for Saturn. Scientists hypothesize that the additional heat comes from condensation and the subsequent fall of helium droplets through a layer of hydrogen deep into the core. As a consequence, the potential energy of the drops is converted into thermal energy. The area of ​​the core, according to scientists, has a diameter of about 25 thousand km.

Moons of Saturn

The largest moons of Saturn are Enceladus, Mimas, Dione, Tethys, Titan, Rhea and Iapetus. They were first discovered in 1789, but to this day they remain the main objects of research. Their diameters range from 397 to 5150 km. The mass distribution corresponds to the diameter distribution. The smallest orbital eccentricities are possessed by Tethys and Dione, and the largest by Titan. All satellites with known parameters are located above the synchronous orbit, which leads to their slow removal.

As of 2010, there are 62 known satellites of Saturn. Moreover, 12 of them were discovered by means of spacecraft: "Cassini", "Voyager-1", "Voyager-2". Most satellites, except Phoebe and Hyperion, are characterized by their own synchronous rotation - each of them is always turned with one side to Saturn. There is no information about the rotation of small satellites. Dione and Tethys are accompanied by two satellites at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points.

Throughout 2006, a team of scientists under the strict guidance of David Jewitt, working in Hawaii, identified nine moons of Saturn using the Subaru telescope. They classified them as irregular satellites with a retrograde orbit. Their rotation time around Saturn varies from 862 to 1300 days.

The first high quality images were taken of one of Tethys' satellites only in 2015.

In our solar system, there are a lot of amazing space objects, the interest in which is not waning. One of these objects is Saturn - the sixth planet of the solar system, the most amazing and unusual celestial body located in outer space closest to us. The huge size, the presence of wonderful rings, other interesting facts and features that the sixth planet has, make it the object of close attention of astrophysicists.

Discovery of the ringed planet

Saturn, like its neighbor, huge Jupiter, is one of the largest objects in the solar system. Man began to collect the first information about a beautiful planet back in the era of ancient civilizations. The Egyptians, Persians and ancient Greeks personified Saturn with the supreme deity, endowing a yellowish star in the night sky with mystical power. Ancient peoples gave this planet great importance, creating and forming the first calendars on it.

In the era Ancient Rome worship of Saturn reached its climax, laying the foundation for the Saturnalia - the holidays of agriculture. Over time, the worship of Saturn became a whole trend in the culture of the ancient Romans.

The first scientific facts about the planet Saturn fall on the end of the XVI century. This is the great merit of Galileo Galilei. It was he who for the first time, with the help of his imperfect telescope, placed Saturn among the objects of our solar system. The only thing that the renowned astronomer failed to find was the fascinating rings of the planet. The decoration of the planet in the form of huge rings, with diameters three, four times the diameter of the planet itself, was discovered in 1610 by the Dutch astrophysicist Christian Huygens.

Only in the modern era, when more powerful ground-based telescopes appeared, the scientific community was able to fully examine the wonderful rings and discover other interesting facts about the planet Saturn.

A brief excursion into the history of the planet

The sixth planet in the solar system is one of the same gas giants as Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Unlike the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, these are real giants, celestial bodies of enormous dimensions of a gaseous structure. It is not for nothing that scientists consider Saturn and Jupiter to be related planets, with an atmosphere similar in composition and astrophysical parameters.

Due to its environment, represented by a whole cohort of large and small satellites, huge and bright rings, the planet is considered the most recognizable in the solar system. However, despite this, it is this planet that has been least studied. The description of the planet today is reduced to the usual and meager static data, including the size, mass, density of a celestial body. No less scanty information about the composition of the planet's atmosphere and its geomagnetic field. The surface of Saturn, hidden by dense gas clouds, is generally considered a dark spot in science for astrophysicists.

What do we know about Saturn today? In the night sky, this planet appears quite often and is a bright pale yellow star. During oppositions, this celestial body looks like a star with a brightness of 0.2-0.3 m of magnitude.

The relatively high brightness of the planet is explained rather by the large size of the planet. Saturn has a diameter of 116 464 thousand km, which is 9.5 times more than the parameters of the Earth. The ringed giant looks like an egg, elongated at the poles and flattened in the equatorial region. The average radius of the planet is just over 58 thousand km. Together with the rings, the diameter of Saturn is 270 thousand km. The mass is equal to 568,360,000 trillion trillion kg.

Saturn is 95 times heavier than Earth and is the second largest space object in the solar system after Jupiter. At the same time, the density of this monster is only 0.687 g / cm3. For comparison, the density of our blue planet is 5.51 g / cm³. In other words, a huge gas planet is lighter than water, and if you put Saturn in a huge pool of water, it would remain on the surface.

Saturn has an area of ​​over 42 billion square meters. kilometers, exceeding the area the earth's surface 87 times. The gas giant's volume is 827.13 trillion. cubic kilometers.

The data on the orbital position of the planet are curious. Saturn is 10 times farther from the Sun than our planet. Sunlight reaches the surface of a ringed planet in 1 hour and 20 minutes. The orbit has the third largest eccentricity, second only to Mercury and Mars in this indicator. The planet's orbit is distinguished by a small difference between aphelion and perihelion, which is 1.54x108 km. Saturn is maximally removed from the Sun at a distance of 1513 783 km. The minimum distance of Saturn from the Sun is 1,353,600 km.

Astrophysical characteristics of the planet in comparison with other celestial objects of the solar system are quite interesting. The planet's orbital speed is 9.6 km / s. A complete revolution around our central star takes less than 30 years for Saturn. In this case, the speed of rotation of the planet around its own axis is much higher than that of the Earth. The revolution of Saturn around its own axis can be 10 hours and 33 minutes, versus 24 hours for our world. In other words, the Saturnian day is much shorter than the earthly day, but the year on the ringed planet will last as much as 24491 earth days. The closest planets to Saturn - Jupiter and Uranus - revolve around their own axis much more slowly.

A characteristic feature of the position of the planet and the speed of rotation around its own axis is the presence of changes in the seasons. The axis of rotation of the ringed giant is tilted to the orbital plane at the same angle as the Earth. There are also seasons on Saturn, only they last much longer: spring, summer, autumn and winter last almost 7 years on Saturn.

The giant is located at an average distance of 1.28 billion kilometers from the Earth. During periods of opposition, Saturn is closest to our world at a distance of 1.20 billion kilometers.

At such huge distances, fly to the ringed gas giant with the current technical capabilities will take a long time. The first automatic probe Pioneer 11 flew to Saturn for over 6 years. Another space wanderer, the Voyager 1 probe, traveled to the gas giant for over 3 years. The most famous spacecraft "Cassini" flew to Saturn for 7 years. The latest achievement of humanity in the field of study and development outer space in the vicinity of Saturn was the flight of the automatic probe "New Horizons". This spacecraft reached the ring region 2 years and 4 months after the launch at the Cape Canaveral launch site.

Characteristics and composition of the planet's atmosphere

The structure of the second largest planet in the solar system is very similar to Jupiter. The gas giant has three layers. The first, innermost layer is a dense massive core composed of silicates and metal. By its mass, the core of Saturn is 20 times heavier than our planet. The temperature in the center of the core reaches 10-11 thousand degrees Celsius. This is due to the colossal pressure in the inner regions of the planet, which reaches 3 million atmospheres. The combination of high temperature and enormous pressure leads to the fact that the planet itself is capable of radiating energy into the surrounding space. Saturn gives off 2.5 times more energy than it receives from our star.

Scientists believe that the diameter of the core is 25 thousand kilometers. If you go higher, a layer of metallic hydrogen begins after the core. Its thickness varies within 30-40 thousand km. Behind the layer of metallic hydrogen begins the uppermost layer, the so-called surface of the planet, filled with hydrogen and helium in a semi-liquid state. The molecular hydrogen layer on Saturn is only 12 thousand km. Like other gas planets in the solar system, Saturn does not have a clear boundary between the atmosphere and the planet's surface. The huge amount of hydrogen creates an intense circulation of electric currents, which, together with the magnetic axis of the planet, form the magnetic field of Saturn. It should be noted that the magnetic shell of Saturn is inferior in strength to the magnetic field of Jupiter.

According to the composition of the atmosphere, the sixth planet of the solar system is 96% hydrogen. Only 4% is helium. The thickness of the atmospheric layer on Saturn is only 60 km, but the main feature of the Saturnian atmosphere is different. The high speed of rotation of the planet around its own axis and the presence of a huge amount of hydrogen in the atmosphere causes the stratification of the gas envelope into strips. Clouds are also mainly composed of molecular hydrogen, diluted with methane and helium. The planet's high rotation speed contributes to the formation of stripes that look thinner in the polar regions and expand significantly as they approach the planet's equator.

Scientists believe that the presence of stripes in the Saturnian atmosphere indicates a high speed of movement of gas masses. This planet has the strongest winds in the entire solar system. According to the data obtained from the Cassini board, the wind speed in Saturn's atmosphere reaches values ​​of 1800 km / h.

Saturn's rings and moons

The most remarkable object in terms of studying the sixth planet of the solar system are its rings. The moons of Saturn are of no less interest due to their enormous size and the presence of a solid surface.

The rings of the gas giant are a huge accumulation of space debris that has accumulated in the regions of Saturn over many billions of years. Ice and rock fragments of space matter form 7 large rings of various widths, separated by 4 cracks. All Saturn's rings were designated in Latin letters: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The slots have the following names:

• Maxwell slit;
• Shelle Cassini;
• Enkea slit;
• Keeler's slit.

Due to the presence of a huge number of rings in the structure space ice, these formations are clearly visible with a powerful telescope. Armed with telescopes with a Go-To mount, only two of Saturn's largest rings can be observed from Earth.

As for the satellites of Saturn, this gas giant has no competitors among the celestial bodies known to date. Officially, the planet has 62 satellites, among which the largest objects stand out. Second by size natural satellite in the solar system, Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury, has a diameter of 5150 km. and exceeds in size Mercury. Unlike its host, Titan has a dense atmosphere of nitrogen.

However, scientists are not interested in Titan today. The sixth largest moon of Saturn, Enceladus, turned out to be a celestial body, on the surface of which traces of water were found. This fact was first discovered thanks to images from the Hubble telescope and was confirmed by the flight of the Cassini space probe. Gushing geysers, vast masses of surface covered with a layer of ice, were discovered on Enceladus. The presence of water in the geological structure of this moon leads scientists to the idea that the solar system may have other forms of life.

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Covered with ice, and with a huge size - more than a quarter of a million kilometers in diameter, they are no more than a kilometer thick.

In the second half of the last century, no more than two dozen satellites were known, but with the commissioning of new ground and space, the list of Saturn's "companions" began to grow rapidly. Only with the help of the Voyager and Cassini spacecraft, 12 satellites were discovered.

Of the 62 satellites of Saturn, only 53 have their own names, 23 of them are regular, that is, they revolve around Saturn in orbits lying in the same plane and in one direction, the rest are irregular.

The parameters of their highly elongated orbits are not known exactly, and it is also unknown whether they rotate or not. Moreover, almost all satellites of the planet have approximately the same composition - rocks and ice.

Scientific research of Saturn

Observing Saturn through a telescope in 1609-1610, he noticed that the planet does not look like a single celestial body, but like three bodies touching each other. The scientist suggested that Saturn probably has two large satellites - in those they were called "companions."

But two years later, Galileo repeated his own and was surprised to find that the planet's satellites ... disappeared without a trace.

Only in 1659, Christian Huygens, with the help of a more powerful and sophisticated telescope, found out that the "companions" are nothing more than a thin flat ring encircling Saturn at some distance from the planet's surface. At the same time, the largest satellite of Saturn was discovered -.

Huygens was the first to suggest that Saturn's ring is not solid solid body, but consists of many small and larger fragments, but fellow academicians attacked the scientist, claiming that nothing of the kind simply could exist in nature.

Since 1675, the director of the Paris Observatory, Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712), has been studying Saturn. He managed to establish that the ring of Saturn is not continuous, but consists of two rings of different diameters, separated by a clearly visible gap - he received the name "Cassini gap".

Later, as the resolving power of telescopes increased, astronomers divided the rings of Saturn into an outer ring A, a ring B separated from it by a Cassini slit, and a translucent inner ring C.

In 1979, the Pioneer 11 spacecraft first flew near Saturn, and in 1980 and 1981. it was followed by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 vehicles. For the first time in history, these devices were transferred to detailed pictures of the structure of the rings and found out their composition.

The astonished astronomers saw a magnificent color extravaganza of hundreds and thousands of thin rings, in a bizarre sequence "collected" around the giant planet.

Saturn: the realm of hot ice

For astronomers of the past, Saturn was the last frontier, the distant one, behind which there was a crystal sphere with motionless attached to it.

Indeed: all the planets located beyond the orbit of Saturn cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Named after the oldest deity of fertility and agriculture, the father of Jupiter, whom an ungrateful son deprived of the throne, Saturn is nine and a half times farther from than Earth.

The same gas giant as Jupiter, it does not look particularly bright in the sky, and it moves much more slowly - the year of Saturn lasts 29.5 Earth years.

When viewed through a telescope, this planet resembles Jupiter - on its disk you can distinguish the same alternating dark and light stripes parallel to the equator.

Saturn's color is pale yellow with a cold bluish tint.

Like Jupiter, Saturn does not have a solid surface, but the most noticeable detail that gives it a unique appearance - giant brightly glowing rings - is clearly visible from Earth.

Ice carousel

Modern astronomers know that all four gas giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and - have rings, but Saturn has the most prominent, massive and strikingly bright rings.

The rings are located at an angle of approximately 28 ° to the plane of Saturn's orbit, so they look different from Earth: depending on mutual disposition their planets can be seen from the edge - and then they practically disappear, then in all their glory.

Christian Huygens turned out to be right - the rings of Saturn really consist of billions of tiny particles trapped in near-planetary orbit.

But what is striking - with a diameter of about 250 thousand km, the thickness of the rings does not even reach twenty meters, and if you put all their matter together, then a cosmic body with a diameter of no more than 100 km would come out of it.

However, astronomers of the past did not even know about the number of Saturn rings.

Indeed, there is a ring A, a Cassini slit about 4 thousand km wide, the brightest ring B and a semitransparent ring C, which is closest to the planet. Moreover, each of them consists of thousands of narrower rings, also alternating with slits and reflecting light in different ways.

Even in the Cassini gap there are several very thin rings. Most of the particles that make up the rings are several centimeters in size, but occasionally bodies of several meters and even up to 1-2 km are found in them.

Experts believe that the rings are almost entirely composed of ice with impurities.

The rings revolve around Saturn, subject to the planet's gravity. From time to time, their composition is renewed due to the "careless" satellites that approach Saturn so close that the planet's gravity simply "tears them apart".

The rings are influenced not only by gravity, but also by the magnetic field of the "host" - it orientates the particles in the set of rings in a special way, and then dark transverse stripes appear on them, the so-called "spoks".

How did Saturn get rings?

The origins of Saturn's rings are still controversial.

They were considered the remnants of a large number of small satellites destroyed by the gravity of Saturn, but the age of the rings - and they are more than 4.5 billion years old - suggests that they are the remnants of the protoplanetary, from which Saturn itself and its many satellites arose.

There is a region near the planet in which clumps of matter that have reached a certain size begin to collide at high speeds and break up.

As a result, instead of a new satellite, a whole cloud of small debris appears, which gradually "escape" to other orbits and participate in the formation of rings.

The extraordinary subtlety of "ice" is explained by the fact that in the equatorial plane of the planet the mutual attraction of particles is balanced by centrifugal forces, and in the direction perpendicular to the equatorial plane, these forces do not act, so the particles are collected in the thinnest ring.

What planet could float on water?

Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, has the lowest density.

Saturn, which is mainly composed of gases and liquids, has an average density of 0.69 g / cm3 while its density is 1.0 g / cm3.

Therefore, if somehow it was possible to transfer a piece of Saturn to Earth, it could float in the pool.

If there was such an ocean in which Saturn could be immersed, then we could be convinced that the giant planet ... floats! It is clear why: the substance of Saturn as a whole is one third lighter than ordinary water.

Hydrogen top

The giant planet, only slightly inferior in size to Jupiter, rotates with great speed- Saturn makes a full revolution in 10 hours 34 minutes. The diameter of Saturn at the equator is more than 120 thousand km, and the axis of the planet, noticeably flattened y, is tilted at an angle of 27 ° to the plane of its orbit.

Hydrogen with an admixture of helium, water, methane, ammonia are the main substances that make up Saturn, and there is more hydrogen there than on Jupiter.

Its average density is much less than that of water, and if an ocean of suitable dimensions existed, Saturn would float calmly on its surface.

The outer layers of the planet's atmosphere seem calm and serene to the observer - they do not have vortex formations like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. However, this is seeming calmness.

According to the data, the speed on Saturn in some places can reach 1,800 km / h, and such “superhurricans” are raging not only in the upper layers of the atmosphere, but also to a depth of 2 thousand km.

As the distance from the outer layers of the atmosphere increases, the pressure and temperature rise, and hydrogen turns into a liquid state.

In the central region of Saturn is a massive core, consisting of iron, rocks and ... water ice, covered with a thin layer of metallic hydrogen.

Ice existing at temperatures of several thousand degrees may seem absurd. However, the ice of the Saturnian interior is not quite ordinary. Its molecular structure is different from regular ice approximately in the same way as the structure of diamond differs from the structure of graphite, and the properties are completely different.

The restless bowels of the planet give rise to a powerful magnetic field, which can be detected even at a distance of a million kilometers from Saturn.

In the atmosphere, powerful, blaze occurs, and the excited masses of hydrogen emit strong ultraviolet radiation.

"Giant Hexagon"

The most amazing phenomenon in the atmosphere of Saturn is the "Giant Hexagon".

Astronomers who observed the planet from Earth did not suspect its existence - the "Giant Hexagon" is located right at the north pole of Saturn. It was partially captured by one of the images transmitted by Voyager, and then, 25 years later, was completely captured by the Cassini spacecraft.

Thanks to a good viewing angle, scientists were able to examine the deep structure of this amazing phenomenon.

The "giant hexagon" is a regular hexagon with a transverse size of 25 thousand km - four Earths can fit on it.

This is a whirlwind of a completely unusual shape, a wall of ammonia clouds rapidly rushing along the sides of the hexagon, extending into the atmosphere for a distance of up to 100 km.

"Hexagon" rotates with the deepest parts of the Saturnian atmosphere and "out of tune" with the movement of its outer regions. Experts believe that it is a giant "standing", surrounding the pole of the planet.

The automated space probe Cassini, which is currently artificial satellite Saturn, transmitted new images of the northern planet in the infrared range.

In these frames, the researchers discovered auroras, which have never been observed in the solar system. They are colored blue, and the clouds below are colored red.

Auroras on Saturn can cover the entire pole, while on Earth and Jupiter, rings of auroras only surround the magnetic poles.

Natural moons of Saturn

Several large celestial bodies are distinguished in the suite of Saturn. They have unusual properties, but are still poorly understood.

The closest large satellite to the planet is Mimas, discovered back in the 18th century. On its surface, a giant is clearly visible, formed by the fall of a giant on the surface of Mimas, which almost split the satellite into pieces.

The next satellite in the distance is Enceladus- the lightest body in the solar system. Its surface reflects almost all sunlight falling on it.

Researchers believe it is covered in a thick layer of light-colored frost. The sparkling icy Enceladus is very hot inside - not only meteorite craters are visible on its surface, but also traces of processes. Therefore, an amazing phenomenon is observed there - ice geysers.

There are even more such traces on the surface of the satellite Dion, and the next one Rhea has a very ancient surface covered with meteorite craters.

Quite a large satellite Tethys, discovered by J. Cassini, is located between the orbits of Enelada and Dione.

Its uniqueness is not only in the huge Ithaca canyon, which, like a trail from a saber strike, cuts three-quarters of the circumference of Tethys, but also in the fact that Tethys shares its orbit with two more small satellites - Telesto and Calypso.

Moving along the same orbit, all three satellites are constantly, as it were, at the vertices of an equilateral triangle.

Titanium, the largest of Saturn's moons and the second after Jupiter's Ganymede, more planet and orbits over a million kilometers from the surface of Saturn.

The only one of the suite of Saturn, it is surrounded by a rather dense atmosphere and is shrouded in clouds consisting of nitrogen with an admixture of methane.

Titan is followed by smaller satellites, but they also have their own pronounced features.

So, at Iapeta one hemisphere reflects light 10 times better than the other. The satellite moves forward with the "dark" hemisphere, and its color is associated with the fact that it is primarily exposed to small particles of ice and rock debris.

On the equator, Iapetus is surrounded by a strange ridge that makes it look like a peach pit.

The most distant of Saturn's moons, with a diameter of more than 200 km, is Phoebe... The rest are much smaller.

Phoebe is remarkable in that it has a reverse rotation - no, not around its own axis, but along its orbit. For a still unclear reason, she moves in the direction opposite movement other large satellites.

Researchers suggest that Phoebe is transformed into a satellite by Saturn's gravity.

Wind record holder... Even the constant storms on Jupiter seem like a breeze compared to the winds that blow in Saturn's atmosphere. Automatic interplanetary stations recorded the highest wind speed in the solar system on Saturn - 1800 km per hour. For comparison, the speed of the most ferocious earthly hurricane usually does not exceed 250 km per hour.

Great hexagon. Scientists still cannot find an explanation for the mysterious giant formation located at the north pole of Saturn.It's a slick in the shape regular hexagon, the diameter of which reaches 25 thousand kilometers. This phenomenon remains one of the biggest mysteries of our planetary system.

General information about Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet in the distance from the Sun (the sixth planet in the solar system).

Saturn belongs to the gas giants and is named after the ancient Roman god of agriculture.

Saturn has been known to humans since ancient times.

Saturn's neighbors are Jupiter and Uranus. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune inhabit the outer solar system.

It is believed that in the center of the gas giant is a massive core of hard and heavy materials (silicates, metals) and water ice.

Saturn's magnetic field is created by the dynamo effect when metallic hydrogen circulates in the outer core and is almost dipole with north and south magnetic poles.

Saturn has the most pronounced planetary ring system in the solar system.

At present, Saturn has 82 natural satellites.

Orbit of Saturn

The average distance from Saturn to the Sun is 1,430 million kilometers (9.58 AU).

Perihelion (orbital point closest to the Sun): 1,353.573 million kilometers (9.048 astronomical units)

Aphelios (orbital point farthest from the Sun): 1513.326 million kilometers (10.116 astronomical units).

The average speed of Saturn's orbit is about 9.69 kilometers per second.

The planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 29.46 Earth years.

The year on the planet is 378.09 Saturnian days.

The distance from Saturn to Earth ranges from 1195 to 1660 million kilometers.

The direction of rotation of Saturn corresponds to the direction of rotation of all (except Venus and Uranus) planets in the solar system.

3D model of Saturn

Physical characteristics of Saturn

Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system.

The average radius of Saturn is 58,232 ± 6 kilometers, that is, about 9 Earth radii.

The surface area of ​​Saturn is 42.72 billion square kilometers.

The average density of Saturn is 0.687 grams per cubic centimeter.

The acceleration due to gravity on Saturn is 10.44 meters per second squared (1.067 g).

The mass of Saturn is 5.6846 x 10 26 kilograms, which is about 95 Earth masses.

Atmosphere of saturn

The two main components of Saturn's atmosphere are hydrogen (about 96%) and helium (about 3%).

In the depths of Saturn's atmosphere, pressure and temperature rise, and hydrogen turns into a liquid state, but this transition is gradual. At a depth of 30,000 kilometers, hydrogen becomes metallic, and the pressure there reaches 3 million atmospheres.

Stable super-powerful hurricanes sometimes appear in Saturn's atmosphere.

During storms and storms, powerful lightning strikes are observed on the planet.

Auroras on Saturn are bright, continuous oval-shaped rings that surround the planet's poles.

Comparative sizes of Saturn and Earth

Rings of Saturn

The diameter of the rings is estimated at 250,000 kilometers, and their thickness does not exceed 1 kilometer.

Scientists conventionally divide Saturn's ring system into three main rings and the fourth is thinner, while in fact the rings are formed from thousands of rings alternating with gaps.

The ring system consists mainly of ice particles (about 93%), less heavy elements and less dust.

The particles that make up Saturn's rings range in size from 1 centimeter to 10 meters.

The rings are located at an angle of about 28 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic, therefore, depending on the relative position of the planets from the Earth, they look different: both in the form of rings and from the edge.

Exploring Saturn

Observing Saturn through a telescope for the first time in 1609 - 1610, Galileo Galilei noticed that the planet looks like three bodies, almost touching each other, and suggested that these are two large "companions" of Saturn, but 2 years later he did not find confirmation of this.

In 1659, Christian Huygens, using a more powerful telescope, found out that the "companions" are actually a thin flat ring that encircles the planet and does not touch it.

In 1979, the automatic interplanetary station Pioneer 11 flew near Saturn for the first time in history, receiving images of the planet and some of its satellites and opening the F ring.

In 1980-1981, the Saturn system was also visited by Voyager-1 and Voyager-2. During the approach to the planet, a number of high-resolution photographs were taken and data were obtained on the temperature and density of Saturn's atmosphere, as well as physical characteristics his companions, including Titan.

Since the 1990s, Saturn, its moons and rings have been repeatedly explored space telescope"Hubble".

In 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission was launched to Saturn, which after 7 years of flight on July 1, 2004 reached the Saturn system and entered orbit around the planet. The Huygens probe separated from the vehicle and parachuted onto Titan's surface on January 14, 2005, taking atmospheric samples. For 13 years scientific activities The Cassini spacecraft has revolutionized scientists' understanding of the gas giant's system. The Cassini mission was completed on September 15, 2017 by immersing the spacecraft into the atmosphere of Saturn.

Saturn's average density is only 0.687 grams per cubic centimeter, making it the only planet in the solar system whose average density is lower than that of water.

Due to the hot core, the temperature of which reaches 11,700 degrees Celsius, Saturn radiates into space 2.5 times more energy than it receives from the Sun.

The clouds at Saturn's north pole form a giant hexagon, each side measuring approximately 13,800 kilometers.

Some of Saturn's moons, such as Pan and Mimas, are "ring shepherds": their gravity plays a role in keeping the rings in place by resonating with certain parts of the ring system.

It is believed that Saturn will absorb its rings in 100 million years.

In 1921, rumors spread that Saturn's rings had disappeared. This was due to the fact that at the time of observations, the ring system was facing the Earth with its edge and could not be considered with the equipment of that time.

Saturn- a planet of the solar system with rings: size, mass, orbit, composition, surface, satellites, atmosphere, temperature, research by devices with a photo.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and possibly the most beautiful object in the solar system.

It is the most distant planet from the star that can be found from Earth without the use of a telescope or binoculars. So they have known about its existence for a long time. This is one of the four gas giants, located 6th in order from the Sun. You will be curious to know which planet Saturn is, but first, check out some interesting facts about the planet Saturn.

Interesting facts about the planet Saturn

Can be found without tools

• Saturn is the 5th brightest in the solar system, so you can see it through binoculars or a telescope.

Ancient people saw him

• It was watched by the Babylonians and the inhabitants far east... Named after the Roman titan (analogue of the Greek Kronos).

The flattest planet

• The polar diameter spans 90% of the equatorial diameter, which is based on low density and rapid rotation. The planet makes an axial revolution every 10 hours and 34 minutes.

A year lasts 29.4 years

• The ancient Assyrians, due to their slowness, nicknamed the planet "Lubadshagush" - "the oldest of the oldest."

There are stripes in the upper atmosphere

• The composition of the upper atmosphere is represented by ammonia ice. There are water clouds below them, and then there are cold mixtures of hydrogen and sulfur.

Oval storms present

• The area above the North Pole has taken on a hexagonal shape (hexagon). The researchers think it could be a wave pattern in the upper clouds. There is also a whirlwind above the South Pole that resembles a hurricane.

The planet is represented mainly by hydrogen

• The planet is divided into layers that penetrate more densely into Saturn. At great depths, hydrogen becomes metallic. It is based on a hot interior.

Endowed with the finest ring system

• Saturn's rings are made from shards of ice and a small amount of carbon dust. They stretch for 120,700 km, but are incredibly thin - 20 m.

The lunar family includes 62 satellites

• Saturn's moons are icy worlds. The largest are Titan and Rhea. Enceladus may have a subsurface ocean.

Titanium is endowed with a complex nitrogen atmosphere

• Consists of ice and stone. The frozen surface layer is endowed with lakes of liquid methane and landscapes covered with frozen nitrogen. Can have life.

Sent 4 missions

• These are Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and 2 and Cassini-Huygens.

The size, mass, and orbit of the planet Saturn

The average radius of Saturn is 58,232 km (equatorial - 60,268 km, and polar - 54,364 km), which is 9.13 times larger than Earth's. With a mass of 5.6846 × 10 26 kg and a surface area of ​​4.27 × 10 10 km 2, its volume reaches 8.2713 × 10 14 km 3.

Polar compression	0.097 96 ± 0.000 18
Equatorial	60 268 ± 4 km
Polar radius	54 36 ± 10 km
Surface area	4.27 · 10 10 km²
Volume	8.27 · 10 14 km³
Weight	5.68 10 26 kg 95 earthly
Medium density	0.687 g / cm³
Acceleration of the free falls at the equator	10.44 m / s²
Second space speed	35.5 km / s
Equatorial speed rotation	9.87 km / s
Rotation period	10h 34min 13s ± 2s
Axis tilt	26.73 °
Declination of the north pole	83.537 °
Albedo	0.342 (Bond)
Apparent magnitude	from +1.47 to -0.24
Absolute stellar magnitude	0,3
Corner diameter	9%

The distance from the Sun to the planet Saturn is 1.4 billion km. In this case, the maximum distance reaches 1,513,783 km, and the minimum - 1,353,600 km.

The average orbital speed reaches 9.69 km / s, and the passage around the star Saturn spends 10759 days. It turns out that one year on Saturn lasts 29.5 Earth years. But here the situation with Jupiter is repeated, where the rotation of the regions occurs at different speeds. In shape, Saturn resembles a flattened spheroid.

The composition and surface of the planet Saturn

You already know which planet Saturn is. It is a gas giant represented by hydrogen and gas. The average density of 0.687 g / cm 3 is surprising. That is, if you place Saturn in a huge body of water, the planet will remain afloat. It has no surface, but has a dense core. The fact is that heating, density, and pressure increase as the nucleus is approached. The structure is explained in detail in the lower photo of Saturn.

Scientists believe that Saturn's structure resembles Jupiter: a rocky core, around which hydrogen and helium are concentrated with a small admixture of volatile substances. The composition of the nucleus may resemble that of the earth, but with an increased density due to the presence of metallic hydrogen.

Inside the planet, the temperature rises to 11,700 ° C, and the amount of radiated energy is 2.5 times what it receives from the Sun. In a sense, this is due to the slow gravitational Kelvin-Helmholtz compression. Or it’s all about helium droplets rising from the depths into the hydrogen layer. In this case, heat is released and helium is taken away from the outer layers.

Calculations in 2004 say that the core should be 9-22 times larger than the Earth's mass, and the diameter should be 25,000 km. It is surrounded by a dense layer of metallic hydrogen in a liquid state, followed by molecular hydrogen saturated with helium. The outermost layer extends for 1000 km and is represented by gas.

Satellites of the planet Saturn

Saturn boasts 62 satellites, of which only 53 have official names. Among them, 34 have a diameter less than 10 km, and 14 - from 10 to 50 km. But some internal satellites stretch for 250-5000 km.

Most of the satellites were named after the Titans from the myths of Ancient Greece. The innermost moons are endowed with small orbital tilts. But irregular satellites in the most separated areas are located in millions of kilometers and can make a round trip in several years.

The inner ones include Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys and Dione. They are represented by water ice and may have a rocky core, ice mantle and crust. The smallest is Mimas with a diameter of 396 km and a mass of 0.4 x 10 20 kg. It resembles an egg in shape, it is 185.539 km distant from the planet, which is why the orbital passage takes 0.9 days.

Enceladus with indicators of 504 km and 1.1 x 10 20 kg has a spherical speed. Spends 1.4 days on the passage around the planet. It is one of the smallest spherical moons, but is endogenously and geologically active. This caused the appearance of parallel faults at the south polar latitudes.

Large geysers were spotted in the south polar region. These jets serve as a source for replenishing the E ring. They are important because they can hint at the presence of life on Enceladus, because the water comes from the underground ocean. The albedo is 140%, making it one of the brightest objects in the system. Below you can admire the photos of Saturn's moons.

With a diameter of 1,066 km, Tethys is the second largest among the moons of Saturn. Most of the surface is represented by craters and hills, as well as a small number of plains. Distinguished by the crater of Odysseus, stretching for 400 km. There is also a system of canyons, which deepens by 3-5 km, stretches for 2000 km, and a width of 100 km.

The largest inner moon is Dione - 1112 km and 11 x 10 20 kg. Its surface is not only ancient, but also badly damaged from impacts. Some craters reach 250 km in diameter. There is also evidence of past geological activity.

The outer satellites are located outside the E-ring and are represented by water ice and rock... This is Rhea with a diameter of 1527 km and a mass of 23 x 10 20 kg. It is 527.108 km distant from Saturn, and spends 4.5 days on an orbital passage. The surface is also dotted with craters and several large faults are noticeable in the posterior hemisphere. There are two large impact basins with a diameter of 400-500 km.

Titan extends 5150 km and has a mass of 1.350 x 10 20 kg (96% of the mass of the orbit), which is why it is considered the largest moon of Saturn. It is the only large moon with its own atmospheric layer. It is cold, dense and contains nitrogen and methane. There are small amounts of hydrocarbons and methane ice crystals.

The surface is difficult to see due to the dense atmospheric haze. Only a few crater formations, cryo-volcanoes and longitudinal dunes are visible. This is the only body in the system with methane-ethane lakes. Titan is 1,221,870 km away and is believed to have an underground ocean. It takes 16 days to walk around the planet.

Hyperion lives near the Titan. With a diameter of 270 km, it is inferior in size and mass to Mimas. It is an egg-shaped brown object that, due to its crater surface (2-10 km in diameter), resembles a sponge. No predictable rotation.

Iapetus stretches for 1470 km, and in terms of mass it is 1.8 x 10 20 kg. It is the most distant moon, located at 3,560,820 km, which is why it takes 79 days to pass. It has an interesting composition because one side is dark and the other is lighter. Because of this, they are called yin and yang.

The Inuit include 5 companions named after Inuit mythology: Ijirak, Kiviok, Paliak, Siarnak, and Tarkek. Their prograde orbits range from 11.1-17.9 million km, and their diameter is 7-40 km. Orbital inclinations - 45-50 °.

The Gaulish family is the outer companions: Albiorix, Befin, Erripo and Tarvos. Their orbits are 16-19 million km, inclination is from 35 ° to -40 °, diameter is 6-32 km, and eccentricity is 0.53.

There is a Scandinavian group - 29 retrograde moons. Their diameter is 6-18 km, the distance is 12-24 million km, the inclination is 136-175 °, and the eccentricity is 0.13-0.77. Sometimes they are called the Thebes family after the largest satellite stretching for 240 km. Then Ymir follows - 18 km.

Between the inner and outer moons, there is a group of Alcoinids: Methon, Anfa and Pallena. These are the smallest moons of Saturn. Some large moons have their own small ones. So for Tethys - Telesto and Calypso, and for Dion - Elena and Polideukos.

The atmosphere and temperature of the planet Saturn

The outer layer of Saturn's atmosphere is 96.3% molecular hydrogen and 3.25% helium. There are also heavier elements, but there is little information about their proportions. Propane, ammonia, methane, acetylene, ethane and phosphine are found in small quantities. The upper cloud cover is represented by ammonia crystals, and the lower cloud cover is represented by ammonium hydrosulfide or water. UV rays lead to methaline photolysis, which causes chemical reactions hydrocarbon.

The atmosphere appears to be striped, but the lines loosen and widen towards the equator. There is a section into top and bottom layers, differing in composition based on pressure and depth. The upper ones are represented by ammonia ice, where the pressure is 0.5-2 bar, and the temperature is 100-160 K.

At the level with a pressure of 2.5 bar, a line of ice clouds begins, which stretches up to 9.5 bar, and the heating is 185-270 K. Here, strips of ammonium hydrosulfide are mixed at a pressure of 3-6 bar and a temperature of 290-235 K. bottom layer represented by ammonia in aqueous solution with indicators of 10-20 bar and 270-330 K.

Sometimes long-period ovals are formed in the atmosphere. The most famous is the Great White Spot. Created every Saturnian year during the northern hemisphere summer solstice.

Spots in width can extend for several thousand km and were noted in 1876, 1903, 1933, 1960 and 1990. Since 2010, Cassini's "northern electrostatic disturbance" has been monitored. If these clouds adhere to a periodicity, then next time we will celebrate the appearance in 2020.

In terms of wind speed, the planet is in second place after Neptune. Voyager recorded an indicator of 500 m / s. A hexagonal wave is visible at the north pole, and a massive jet stream at the south pole.

For the first time, the hexagon was seen in Voyager photographs. Its sides stretch for 13,800 km (more than the Earth's diameter), and the structure turns around in 10 hours, 39 minutes and 24 seconds. The vortex at the South Pole was observed through the Hubble Telescope. There is a wind accelerating 550 km / h, and the storm is similar in size to our planet.

The rings of the planet Saturn

It is believed that these are old rings and may have formed with the planet. There are two theories. One says that the rings were previously a satellite that collapsed due to the close approach to the planet. Or the rings were never part of the satellite, but act as a remnant of nebular material from which Saturn itself emerged.

Divided into 7 rings, between which there is a gap. A and B are the most dense and cover 14,600 and 25,300 km in diameter. They stretch for 92000-117580 km (B) and 122170-136775 km (A) from the center. The Cassini department covers 4700 km.

C is separated from B by 64 km. It is 17500 km wide, and is removed from the planet by 74658-92000 km. Together with A and B, it contains the main rings with larger particles. Then there are dusty rings, because they have small particles.

D covers 7,500 km and extends inward for 66,900-75510 km. At the other end are G (9000 km and a distance of 166000-175000 km) and E (300000 km and a distance of 166000-480000 km). F is located on the outer edge of A and is more difficult to classify. This is mainly dust. It is 30-500 km wide and extends 140 180 km from the center.

The history of the study of the planet Saturn

Saturn can be found without the use of telescopes, which is why ancient people saw it. Mentions are found in legends and mythology. The earliest records belong to Babylon, where the planet was recorded with reference to the zodiac sign.

The ancient Greeks called this giant Kronos, who was a god Agriculture and acted as the youngest of the titans. Ptolemy managed to calculate the orbital passage of Saturn when the planet was in opposition. In Rome, they used the Greek tradition and gave the present name.

In ancient Hebrew, the planet was called Shabbatai, and in Ottoman Empire- Zukhal. The Hindus have Shani, who judges everyone, evaluating good and bad deeds. The Chinese and Japanese called it an earthly star, considering it one of the elements.

But the planet was observed only in 1610, when Galileo saw it through his telescope and the rings were discovered. But the scientist thought they were two satellites. Only Christian Huygens corrected the mistake. He also found Titan, and Giovanni Cassini found Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys and Dione.

The next important step was taken by William Herschel in 1789, when he found Mimas and Enceladus. And in 1848 Hyperion appears.

Drawing of Saturn by Robert Hooke (1666)

Phoebus in 1899 was found by William Pickering, who guessed that the satellite has an irregular orbit and rotates synchronously with the planet. In the 20th century, it became clear that Titan had a dense atmosphere that had never been seen before. The planet Saturn is an interesting object for research. On our site you can study his photo, watch a video about the planet and learn many more interesting facts. Below is a map of Saturn.

Click on the image to enlarge it

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