Why a ring around Saturn? Because she’s engaged! As the second-largest planet in the solar system, Saturn is a gas giant adorned with a gorgeous icy ring that adds flair to its personality. It is made up of Hydrogen and Helium gases making up a huge ball that is home to one of the most breath-taking landscapes in our solar system. Saturn is named after the Roman god of agriculture and wealth, also the father of Jupiter.
What is Saturn Made up of?
Before we understand why Saturn has a ring around it, we need to know the history of how the planet was formed. 4.5 billion years ago, Saturn was formed when other planets in the solar system took shape. Gravity pulled swirling dust and gas in to become this enormous second-largest gas giant in the solar system. At its core, there are dense metals like iron and nickel that are surrounded by rocky material and other compounds solidified by intense pressure and heat. Its core is very stable and integral as it is enveloped by a layer of liquid hydrogen similar to Jupiter’s core but considerably smaller.
Did you know that Saturn can float on water if dropped in a planet-sized tub? Yes, that’s right, the planet’s average density is less than water due to its gas composition. Saturn does not have a true surface as it comprises swirling gas and liquids deep down. Let us take a journey into Saturn by flying a space drone into the planet’s atmosphere. As the drone flies into Saturn, it would melt and vaporize well before it hits the planet’s surface. This is due to the extreme pressure and temperature of the planet that could crush, melt, and reduce the spacecraft into smithereens. Also, the planet lacks a crust or surface as it is only a ball of swirling gases.
The Atmospheric Composition
Let us hypothetically design a specific suit that can withstand the hostile conditions on Saturn. As you are dropped into Saturn, you will be able to observe faint stripes, get streams and storms. They will be of different shades of yellow, brown, and grey. You will be swept away by winds in the upper atmosphere that reach a speed of 1,600 feet per second. The pressure will be so immense that it would squeeze gas into a liquid form. But you will not be affected by this as the hypothetically created suit would be able to withstand this pressure.
As you make your way to the planet’s North pole, you will be mesmerized by a six-sided jet stream. This stream that resembles a hexagon was first observed by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1980. This hexagon spans at 20,000 miles across, with a wavy jet stream of wind hitting you at 322 km/hr with a massive rotating storm at the center. Saturn’s smaller magnetic field is smaller than Jupiter’s but 578 times more powerful than Earth’s. It has an enormous magnetosphere that covers the rings and many of the satellites. The magnetosphere behaves like electrically charged particles and is influenced by Saturn’s magnetic field than the solar wind.
How Did the Ring Form?
When Saturn was formed, it is believed that pieces of asteroids and comets of shattered moons broke up before they reached the planet, thanks to its strong gravity. Since these asteroids were very far away from the Sun, they were coated with ice due to the extreme cold. The planet’s ring comprises dust-sized icy grains to large chunks as big as a house or even a mountain. These rings would look white from the surface, with each ring orbiting around the planet at a different speed.
Saturn’s ring extends up to 175,000 miles from the planet, but the vertical height is 30 feet in main rings. The ring was named in the order they were discovered alphabetically, with the main ones being A, B, and C. Fainter and more recently discovered rings were D, E, F, and G. The rings D, C, and B are close to the inner atmosphere of the planet and rings A, F, G, and E were farther out. Also, there is a faint ring in the orbit of Saturn’s moon Pheobe.
Saturn’s rings are truly an amazing sight to behold. You can visit a nearby observatory to check out that marvelous sight on the right day. Just make sure to search on the internet and find the day when Saturn will be visible in the right sky and drive to the observatory.
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