Planet Saturn

‌ gas giant with a radius about nine times that of Earth. Its most famous feature is its extensive ring system, consisting of nine continuous main rings and three discontinuous arcs.

Physical Characteristics

• Diameter: 116,460 kilometers
• Mass: 5.683 × 10^26 kg
• Moons: 82 confirmed moons⁤
• Atmosphere: primarily ⁤composed of⁤ hydrogen and helium

Orbit⁣ and Rotation

⁤ Saturn takes approximately 29.5 Earth years to complete one orbit around the Sun. It also has⁢ a rapid rotation period of about 10.7 hours, giving it an ​oblate shape due to ​its high rotation speed.

Rings

‍ Saturn’s rings are made primarily of ice particles ‍with a smaller​ amount of rocky debris and ⁣dust. The main rings are labeled alphabetically in the order of their discovery,‍ from the ⁢D ring closest to the planet to ⁢the‌ faint G ring. These rings are believed to be the remnants of​ a shattered ‍moon or⁢ comet that broke apart before reaching Saturn.

Exploration

⁢ Saturn has been explored ‌by⁢ several robotic ⁤spacecraft, including NASA’s Cassini mission, which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017. Cassini⁢ provided⁣ valuable ‍data on the planet’s atmosphere, moons, and rings, and⁤ even discovered several new moons ​during its mission.