Some science behind the scenes
Saturn
The physical planet Saturn as opposed to the symbolic SATURN, is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Along with the planets Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune it is classified as a gas giant. It was named after the Roman god Saturnus.
The planet Saturn is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements. The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. The outer atmosphere of Saturn consists of about 93.2% molecular hydrogen and 6.7% helium. Trace amounts of ammonia, acetylene, ethane, phosphine, and methane have also been detected. The upper clouds on Saturn are composed of ammonia crystals, while the lower level clouds appear to be composed of either ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH) or water. The atmosphere of Saturn is significantly deficient in helium relative to the abundance of the elements in the Sun.
The outer atmosphere is generally bland in appearance, although long-lived features can appear. It can occasionally exhibit long-lived ovals and other features common on Jupiter. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope observed an enormous white cloud near Saturn's equator which was not present during the Voyager encounters, and, in 1994, another smaller storm was observed. The 1990 storm was an example of a Great White Spot, a unique but short-lived phenomenon which occurs once every Saturnian year, or roughly every 30 Earth years, around the time of the northern hemisphere's summer solstice. Previous Great White Spots were observed in 1876, 1903, 1933, and 1960, with the 1933 storm being the most famous. If the periodicity is maintained, another storm will occur in about 2020.
Saturn's winds are among the Solar System's fastest. Voyager data indicate peak easterly winds of 500 m/s (1,800 km/h). NASA reported in November 2006 that the Cassini spacecraft observed a 'hurricane-like' storm locked to the south pole that had a clearly defined eyewall.
Saturn has a planetary magnetic field intermediate in strength between that of Earth and the more powerful field around Jupiter. Most probably, the magnetic field is generated similarly to that of Jupiter—by currents in the metallic-hydrogen layer, which is called a metallic-hydrogen dynamo. Similarly to those of other planets, this magnetosphere is efficient at deflecting the solar wind particles from the Sun. The planet gives off radio emissions, which are assumed to be equal to the period of rotation of Saturn's interior. Saturn has a very hot interior, reaching 11,700 °C at the core, and it radiates 2.5 times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun.
Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust.
Sixty known moons orbit the planet. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to possess a significant atmosphere. Traditionally, most of Saturn's moons have been named after Titans of Greek mythology. This started because John Herschel—son of William Herschel, discoverer of Mimas and Enceladus—suggested doing so in his 1847 publication Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope, because they were the sisters and brothers of Cronos (the Greek Saturn).
Due to a combination of its lower density, rapid rotation, and fluid state, Saturn is an oblate spheroid; that is, it is flattened at the poles and bulges at the equator. Its equatorial and polar radii differ by almost 10% . The other gas planets are also oblate, but to a lesser extent.
Observations
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