Planets/Saturn

Saturn is a planet in the solar system, the more distant from the sun than Jupiter but closer than the other gaseous giants Uranus and Neptune.

Location

History

Babylonian astronomers systematically observed and recorded the movements of Saturn.^[1] In ancient Hebrew, Saturn is called 'Shabbathai'.^[2] Its angel is Cassiel. Its intelligence or beneficial spirit is Agiel (layga) and its spirit (darker aspect) is Zazel (lzaz). In Ottoman Turkish, Urdu and Malay, its name is 'Zuhal'.

Ancient Chinese and Japanese culture designated the planet Saturn as the earth star.

Composition

Saturn is one of the gas giants.

Cassini instruments provide complementary information about the structure of Saturn's rings. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters,^[3] that orbit about Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirely of water ice, with a trace component of rocky material. There is still no consensus as to their mechanism of formation. Although theoretical models indicated that the rings were likely to have formed early in the Solar System's history,^[4] new data from Cassini suggest they formed relatively late.^[5]

References

↑ A. Sachs (May 2, 1974). "Babylonian Observational Astronomy". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Royal Society of London) 276 (1257): 43–50 [45 & 48–9]. doi:10.1098/rsta.1974.0008.
↑ Cessna, Abby (November 15, 2009). When Was Saturn Discovered?. Universe Today. http://www.webcitation.org/62DnlspZi. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
↑ Porco, Carolyn. "Questions about Saturn's rings". CICLOPS web site. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
↑ Tiscareno, M. S. (2012-07-04). "Planetary Rings". In Kalas, P.; French, L.. Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems. Springer. pp. 61–63. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5606-9_7. ISBN 978-94-007-5605-2. http://refworks.springer.com/mrw/index.php?id=1654. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
↑ Iess, L.; Militzer, B.; Kaspi, Y.; Nicholson, P.; Durante, D.; Racioppa, P.; Anabtawi, A.; Galanti, E. et al. (2019). "Measurement and implications of Saturn's gravity field and ring mass". Science 364 (6445): eaat2965. doi:10.1126/science.aat2965. PMID 30655447.

[ptrsl276_1257_43-1] A. Sachs (May 2, 1974). "Babylonian Observational Astronomy". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Royal Society of London) 276 (1257): 43–50 [45 & 48–9]. doi:10.1098/rsta.1974.0008.

[Cessna-2] Cessna, Abby (November 15, 2009). When Was Saturn Discovered?. Universe Today. http://www.webcitation.org/62DnlspZi. Retrieved July 21, 2011.

[Questions-3] Porco, Carolyn. "Questions about Saturn's rings". CICLOPS web site. Retrieved 2012-10-05.

[Tiscareno-4] Tiscareno, M. S. (2012-07-04). "Planetary Rings". In Kalas, P.; French, L.. Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems. Springer. pp. 61–63. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5606-9_7. ISBN 978-94-007-5605-2. http://refworks.springer.com/mrw/index.php?id=1654. Retrieved 2012-10-05.

[IessMilitzer2019-5] Iess, L.; Militzer, B.; Kaspi, Y.; Nicholson, P.; Durante, D.; Racioppa, P.; Anabtawi, A.; Galanti, E. et al. (2019). "Measurement and implications of Saturn's gravity field and ring mass". Science 364 (6445): eaat2965. doi:10.1126/science.aat2965. PMID 30655447.

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