Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the most distant that can be seen with the naked eye. It is best known for its fabulous ring system that was discovered in 1610 by the astronomer Galileo Galilei.
Facts about Planet Saturn
1. Saturn is the farthest planet from Earth 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. It is by far the most beautiful.
2. Saturn itself is named, like all the planets, after a Roman god. Saturn was a rather mysterious god but it is believed that he was the god of sowing seed and of the harvest.
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3. One day on Saturn takes 10.7 hours (the time it takes for Saturn to rotate or spin once). Saturn makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Saturnian time) in 29 Earth years.
4. Because Saturn is bigger than the Earth, you would weigh more on Saturn than you do here. If you weigh 70 (32 kg) pounds on Earth, you would weigh 74.5 pounds (34 kg) on Saturn.
5. Saturn is the flattest planet, Its polar diameter is 90% of its equatorial diameter, this is due to its low density and fast rotation.
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6. Saturn is a gas giant made mostly of hydrogen, It exists in layers that get denser farther into the planet. Eventually, deep inside, the hydrogen becomes metallic. At the core lies a hot interior.
7. Saturn is 886 million miles, or 1426 million kilometres, from the Sun.
8. Like Jupiter, however, Saturn spins much faster on its axis than the Earth. The Earth completes one rotation (turning) on its axis in 24 hours, turning away from the Sun and back again to give us night and day. Saturn, although so much bigger, completes a full rotation in just over 10 hours.
9. This rapid spinning leads to hurricane-like storms far, far stronger than anything that is seen on the Earth. There is a constant whirlwind storm at Saturn’s south pole which can be observed with the strongest telescopes.
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10. 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.
