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
