Saturn Diameter: 120,536 km, 9.4 Earth Diameters Saturn's Mass: 5.68x1026 kg, 94.3 Earth masses Average Distance from Sun: 1.427 billion km, 9.53 AU (astronomical units) Length of Day: 10 hours 40 minutes Length of Year: 29.46 Earth Years How many moons does Saturn have? 30 Planetary ring system: Yes Average temperature: ~134 K (-139 C) Atmospheric composition: Mostly hydrogen and helium. AU stands for astronomical unit. One AU is the average distance from the center of the Earth to the center of the Sun: 149,597,870 kmFacts about Saturn's rings Facts about Saturn's moons (satellites)
Mass (1024 kg) 568.46
Volume (1010 km3) 82,713
Radius (1 bar level) (km)
Equatorial 60,268
Polar 54,364
Volumetric mean radius (km) 58,232
Ellipticity (Flattening) 0.09796
Mean density (kg/m3) 687
Gravity (eq., 1 bar) (m/s2) 8.96
Escape velocity (km/s) 35.5
Number of natural satellites 30 Facts about Saturn's moons
Planetary ring system Yes
Semimajor axis (106 km) 1,433.53 Sidereal orbit period (days) 10,759.22 Tropical orbit period (days) 10,746.94 Perihelion (106 km) 1,352.55 Aphelion (106 km) 1,514.50 Synodic period (days) 378.09 Orbit inclination (deg) 2.485 Orbit eccentricity 0.0565 Sidereal rotation period (hours) 10.656 (Saturnian System III coordinates) Length of day (hrs) 10.656 Obliquity to orbit (deg) 26.73Semimajor axis (106 km) Mean distance from the Sun (or other central body in the case of satellites) from center to center in 10^6 kilometers Sidereal orbit period (days) The time it takes the body to make one revolution about the Sun relative to the fixed stars in days. Synodic period (days) The time interval between similar configurations in the orbit (e.g. opposition) of the body and Earth, in days. Perihelion (106 km) The point in a body's orbit closest to the Sun, in 10^6 kilometers. Aphelion (106 km) The point in a body's orbit furthest from the Sun, in 10^6 kilometers. Orbit inclination (deg) The inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic, in degrees. For satellites, this is with respect to the planet's equator. Orbit eccentricity A measure of the circularity of the orbit, equal to (aphelion - perihelion distance)/(2 x semi-major axis) For a circular orbit, eccentricity = 0. Sidereal rotation period (hrs) The time for one rotation of the body on its axis relative to the fixed stars, in hours. A minus sign indicates retrograde rotation. Length of day (hrs) The average time in hours for the Sun to move from the noon position in the sky at a point on the equator back to the same position, on Earth this defines a 24 hour day. Obliquity to orbit (deg) The tilt of the body's equator relative to the body's orbital plane, in degrees.
Discoverer: Unknown
Discovery Date: Prehistoric
Distance from Earth
Minimum (106 km) 1195.5
Maximum (106 km) 1658.5
Apparent diameter from Earth
Maximum (seconds of arc) 20.1
Minimum (seconds of arc) 14.5
Mean values at opposition from Earth
Distance from Earth (106 km) 1277.42
Apparent diameter (seconds of arc) 19.5
Apparent visual magnitude 0.7
Maximum apparent visual magnitude 0.43
Surface Pressure: >>1000 bars
Temperature at 1 bar: ~134 K (-139 C)
Temperature at 0.1 bar: ~84 K (-189 C)
Density at 1 bar: ~0.19 kg/m3
Wind speeds
Up to ~400 m/s (<30 degrees latitude)
Up to ~150 m/s (>30 degrees latitude)
Scale height: 59.5 km
Mean molecular weight: 2.07 g/mole
Atmospheric composition (by volume, uncertainty in parentheses)
Major: Molecular hydrogen (H2) - 96.3% (2.4%); Helium (He) - 3.25% (2.4%)
Minor (ppm): Methane (CH4) - 4500 (2000); Ammonia (NH3) - 125 (75);
Hydrogen Deuteride (HD) - 110 (58); Ethane (C2H6) - 7 (1.5)
Aerosols: Ammonia ice, water ice, ammonia hydrosulfide
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