FREE ESSAY ON SATURN

SATURN

Jessica Alcalde
Earth and Space
Saturn
SATURN
Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and it is the second largest of the nine planets
in the solar system. In Roman mythology it was believed to be the god of agriculture, he
ate his children. Its Greek name is Cronos. Saturn is distinctively known for its ring
system, which was first seen by Galileo in 1610. Of all the planets Saturn has the most
moons, with a total of twenty-eight.
Until recently, there were only 18 known moons that were orbiting Saturn. In the last ten
months astronomers have discovered ten more, making the total twenty-eight. The diameters
of Saturn's moons range from 20 to 5150 km. They are mostly made up of ice, gas and dust
nebula form which the solar system was formed and from where the sun could not evaporate
the frozen gases and ice. The five largest known Saturn moons are Mimas, Enceladus,
Tethys, Dione and Rhea. Dione's surface is believed to be 40% rock material and it has
many craters that have been caused by meteorite impacts. Many astronomers think that
there is tectonic activity happening on Eceladus. Dion and Rhea look very similar on the
outside because they are both very bright and wispy streaks on their surface, caused by
ice from the interior that has moved to the surface. 
Last week, a Canadian astronomer named J.J. Kavelaars, discovered four of the ten new
moons. These newly discovered moons are different from the other moons. The new ones are
much smaller and their orbits are highly inclined relative to Saturn's rings and its
equator. Also, they are highly elliptical. Some of Saturn's moons orbit in the same
direction as Saturn and others go in the opposite direction. Because of the unusual orbit
of some of the moons, many astronomers believe that Saturn captured these moons after it
was formed 4.6 billion years ago. 
The density of Saturn compared to Earth is eight times less because Saturn is made up of
mostly hydrogen. It has 88% hydrogen, 11% helium and also has methane, ammonia, ethane,
acetylene and phosphine. Probes that have gone to Saturn have sent back images that show
whirl winds and clouds in a deep haze. The enormous weight of Saturn's atmosphere causes
the atmospheric pressure to increase significantly toward the center of the planet, where
the hydrogen gas becomes condensed into a liquid. Toward the center of the planet, the
liquid hydrogen is compressed into metallic hydrogen which is an electrical conductor.
Electrical currents in this metallic hydrogen are what is the cause for the planet's
magnetic field. At the center of Saturn, the core is thought to have a temperature close
to 15,000? C. The average temperatures of Saturn's clouds are -176 degrees Celsius. On
Saturn, the time it would take to make a full rotation is ten hours and eleven minutes.
Because of Saturn's fast rotation it concludes that the winds of Saturn's equator go as
fast as 1060 mph.
The rings of Saturn are named in order of their discovery. They were named after the
letters in the alphabet. From the planet outward they are called D, C, B, A, F, G, and E
rings. These rings are now known to comprise more than 100,000 individual ringlets. All
of the rings of Saturn circle the planet. There are dark spots in some places on the
rings and in the past have been mistaken for some of Saturn's moons. One of Saturn's
moons Enceladus, is thought to give particles to one of the rings and they orbit
together. Saturn's visible rings stretch out to a distance of 84,650 miles from the
center of Saturn. But in some places the rings are only 5 miles thick.
Saturn is definitely one of the more unique planets. Because of its distinctive ring
system, and it's twenty-eight moons. From earth Saturn appears to look like a bight
yellow object, one of the brightest in the sky. The sixth planet from the sun and it is
the second largest of the nine planets in the solar system. In Roman mythology it was
believed to be the god of agriculture, he ate his children. What a fantastic, great
planet.
Bibliography
References
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=01369000
www.looksmart.com/eus1
www.astronomy.com 
www.universetoday.com 
www.nasa1.com