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Difference between revisions of "Saturn"
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==Observation== | ==Observation== | ||
Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, and in early recorded history it was a major character in various mythologies. Babylonian astronomers systematically observed and recorded the movements of Saturn. In ancient Greek, the planet was known as Φαίνων ''Phainon'', and in Roman times it was known as the "star of Saturn." | Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, and in early recorded history it was a major character in various mythologies. Babylonian astronomers systematically observed and recorded the movements of Saturn. In ancient Greek, the planet was known as Φαίνων ''Phainon'', and in Roman times it was known as the "star of Saturn." | ||
==Moons and rings== | |||
The moons of Saturn are numerous and diverse, ranging from tiny moonlets only tens of meters across to the enormous Titan, which is larger than the planet [[Mercury]]. There are 146 moons with confirmed orbits, the most of any planet in the solar system. Before the advent of telescopic photography, eight moons of Saturn were discovered by direct observation using optical telescopes. | |||
The modern names for Saturnian moons were suggested by John Herschel in 1847. He proposed to name them after mythological figures associated with the Roman god of agriculture and harvest, Saturn (equated to the Greek Cronus). | |||
The rings of Saturn are the most extensive and complex ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around 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. | |||
==Exploration== | |||
The exploration of Saturn has been solely performed by crewless probes. Three missions were flybys, which formed an extended foundation of knowledge about the system. The first probe to visit the Saturnian system was Pioneer 11 in 1979, which revealed that Titan was probably too cold to support life. The Cassini–Huygens spacecraft, launched in 1997, was in orbit from 2004 to 2017. | |||
''Huygens'' was an atmospheric probe that touched down on Titan on January 14, 2005, discovering that many of its surface features seem to have been formed by fluids at some point in the past. Titan is the most distant body from Earth to have a space probe land on its surface. | |||
The ''Huygens'' probe landed just off the easternmost tip of a bright region now called Adiri. The probe photographed pale hills with dark "rivers" running down to a dark plain. Current understanding is that the hills (also referred to as highlands) are composed mainly of water ice. Dark organic compounds, created in the upper atmosphere by the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, may rain from Titan's atmosphere. They are washed down the hills with the methane rain and are deposited on the plains over geological time scales. | |||
==Mythology== | ==Mythology== | ||