saturn Flashcards
how many satellites does saturn have?
62 including titan
is the size of saturn smaller or bigger than jupiter?
smaller and less massive
what is the diameter of saturn in comparison to earth?
9x
what is the density of saturn?
0.7g/cm^3 (could float in water)
how many years does it take to orbit the sun?
29 years, mean distance of 9.5 AU
what is the albedo?
0.34, bright
what is gravity and escape velocity like?
similar to earth but escape velocity 3 times higher
what did galileo find about saturn telescopically?
had unusual shape- like 3 objects close together
later on had disappeared- referred to them as ears
later found to be the ring by huygens
what did cassini find and what is this?
dark line in ring- is a gap
what did james maxwell and keeler find?
maxwell- rings made up of small particles
keeler- inner parts faster than outer
What is the rotation period?
10.5 h - similar to jupiter
leads to oblate shape
what did pioneer 11 find and when was it launched?
sep 1979. new details on saturn, rings and satellites. found new ring outside those known. measured magnetic field- stronger than earth’s. magnetic axis aligned with rotation axis, unlike jupiter and earth.
what did voyager 1 and 2 find?
high resolution images
what did cassini find and when was it launched?
1997, reached saturn july 2004. detailed images and new info about saturn, satellites and rings. entered atmosphere in 2017
what did hygens probe find?
returned data from surface of titan
what is the composition of saturn?
96% h
4% helium
traces of ammonia and methane
what is the snow made of
ammonia precipitation
why are there less helium in clouds?
sunk to lower levels
why are saturns belts less prominent than jupiters?
because smaller and futher away. Blander due to greater amount of haze overlying cloud tops
what is the spped of flow patterns in saturns astompshere compared to jupiter?
1800 km/h saturn
360 km/h jupiter
why does it have seasons?
axis tilted by 27 degrees changes in belt and zone structure,
what is the interior like?
solid core of 10 earth masses- not as dense but some ice- larger than jupiters 16%
outside core- liquid metallic hydrogen, up to half way to surface
above thick layer of liquid hydrogen and helium
cloud layer at -130 degrees
what is the density of saturn ?
0.7 g/cm^3 lower than jupiter
what is the temp and pressure of core?
12000 degrees
8 million atmospheres
how much heat does saturn emit?
twice as much as recieves from sun. due to contraction, also some due to sinking of helium in metallic and liquid hydrogen zones.
heavier helium sink centre- releasing gravitational energy.
