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Saturn (Planet)
 
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 Symbol

 

 Mean distance from The Sun

9.55 a.u. 

 Sidereal Period

29.42 years

 Rotation Period

10.66 hours

 Mass

95.16 Earth

 Diameter

60268 km 

 
Saturn is the second largest of the gas-giants and telescopically the most beautiful of the planets. This is because Saturn has a ring system comprising of trillions of moonlets made of water ice and can be easily seen with quite a modest telescope. Binoculars will not show the rings but rather show Saturn as a bright yellow oblate blob, however a telescope will reveal the Cassini division in the rings and possibly some faint cloud structure.
 
 

 
 

 
Image: Saturn's position (ringed in red), as of 17 May 2009, among the outer planets in the Solar System. Image created with Solar System Simulator V4
 
 
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This page was last modified on Sunday, May 02, 2010 02:50:45 PM