Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet in the solar system. Saturn is the farthest planet from Earth and not visible to the naked human eye, but it is through a telescope that the planet’s most outstanding features can be seen: Saturn’s rings. Although the other gas giants in the solar system, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, also have rings, those of Saturn are without a doubt the most extraordinary. Saturn is a gas giant made up of mostly hydrogen and helium gas, with traces of ammonia and methane. Saturn is big enough to hold more than 760 Earths, and is more massive than any other planet except Jupiter; roughly Saturn is 95 times Earth’s mass. However, Saturn has the lowest density of all the planets, and is the
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Saturn has an axial tilt of almost 27 degrees, which is slightly larger than that of Mars. Saturn spins faster than any other planet except Jupiter, completing a rotation roughly every 10 and-a-half hours. Saturn takes a long time to revolve around the sun because the further away the planet is from the sun, the larger the orbit path. Saturn takes approximately 29.7 years to revolve around the sun. When talking about a gas giant in the outer reaches of the solar system, the concept of seasonal change doesn't quite mean the same as on Earth. Seasonal variations are strong on Saturn and each season lasts more than 7 years. This rapid spinning causes Saturn to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles. The planet is 8,000 miles wider at its equator than between its …show more content…
"These are truly massive cyclones, hundreds of times stronger than the most giant hurricanes on Earth," said Kevin Baines, Cassini scientist on the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Dozens of puffy, convectively formed cumulus clouds swirl around both poles, betraying the presence of giant thunderstorms lurking beneath. Thunderstorms are the likely engine for these giant weather systems." Saturn’s cyclones have no body of water at their bases. The storms on that planet are locked to Saturn's poles, whereas terrestrial hurricanes drift across the ocean. The cyclone at Saturn's North Pole is only visible in the near-infrared wavelengths because the North Pole is in winter, thus in darkness to visible-light cameras. At these wavelengths the clouds deep inside Saturn's atmosphere are seen in silhouette against the background glow of Saturn's internal heat. In the south, the new infrared images of the pole, under the daylight conditions of southern summer show the entire region is marked by hundreds of dark cloud spots. The clouds, like those at the North Pole, are likely a manifestation of convective, thunderstorm-like processes extending some 62 miles below the clouds. They are likely composed of ammonium hydrosulfide with
Saturn has an axial tilt of almost 27 degrees, which is slightly larger than that of Mars. Saturn spins faster than any other planet except Jupiter, completing a rotation roughly every 10 and-a-half hours. Saturn takes a long time to revolve around the sun because the further away the planet is from the sun, the larger the orbit path. Saturn takes approximately 29.7 years to revolve around the sun. When talking about a gas giant in the outer reaches of the solar system, the concept of seasonal change doesn't quite mean the same as on Earth. Seasonal variations are strong on Saturn and each season lasts more than 7 years. This rapid spinning causes Saturn to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles. The planet is 8,000 miles wider at its equator than between its …show more content…
"These are truly massive cyclones, hundreds of times stronger than the most giant hurricanes on Earth," said Kevin Baines, Cassini scientist on the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Dozens of puffy, convectively formed cumulus clouds swirl around both poles, betraying the presence of giant thunderstorms lurking beneath. Thunderstorms are the likely engine for these giant weather systems." Saturn’s cyclones have no body of water at their bases. The storms on that planet are locked to Saturn's poles, whereas terrestrial hurricanes drift across the ocean. The cyclone at Saturn's North Pole is only visible in the near-infrared wavelengths because the North Pole is in winter, thus in darkness to visible-light cameras. At these wavelengths the clouds deep inside Saturn's atmosphere are seen in silhouette against the background glow of Saturn's internal heat. In the south, the new infrared images of the pole, under the daylight conditions of southern summer show the entire region is marked by hundreds of dark cloud spots. The clouds, like those at the North Pole, are likely a manifestation of convective, thunderstorm-like processes extending some 62 miles below the clouds. They are likely composed of ammonium hydrosulfide with