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Saturn

From Ascension Glossary
Saturn's size compared to Earth [1]


Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. The planet has a bright and extensive system of rings, composed mainly of ice particles, with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture, who was the father of the god Jupiter.The Romans named the seventh day of the week Saturday, Sāturni diēs, "Saturn's Day", for the planet Saturn.

Hexagonal cloud patterns

Satellite picture of the "hexagon on Saturn" - it is a hexagon twice as wide as Earth around Saturn's north pole. First observed by the Voyager 1 probe in the 1980s, the hexagon has been sighted still by the Cassini probe [2]

A persisting hexagonal wave pattern around the north polar vortex in the atmosphere at about 78°N was first noted in the Voyager images.

Natural satellites

Saturn's Rings (Artist's Concept) [3]

Saturn has 274 known moons, 63 of which have formal names. There is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40–500 meters in Saturn's rings, which are not considered to be true moons.