Saturn: Ringed Wonder

Presented by

Professor Harold Geller

Department of Physics and Astronomy

George Mason University

What I’m Going to Talk About

• Saturn as a jovian planet– mass

– diameter

– distance from sun

– chemical constituents

– formation

– atmosphere

– inner layers

– rings

– moons

Saturn Statistics

• Distance from sun– 1427 million km (9.54 AU)

• Orbital eccentricity and inclination– 0.054 eccentricity

– 2.49 degrees inclination

• Orbital speed and period– 9.65 km/s

– 29.42 years - sidereal period

• Mass– 5.68 x 1026 kg (95.6 x Earth)

• Equatorial Diameter– 60,268 km (9.45 x Earth)

More Saturn Statistics

• Mean density– 0.687 g/cm3 (0.125 x Earth)

• Surface gravity– 10.4 m/s2 (1.07 x Earth)

• Escape velocity– 35.5 km/s

• Axial tilt– 26.7 degrees

• Temperature at cloud top– 97 K

• Number of Moons– Define a moon

Where Are We?

Jovians and Terrestrials

A Family Portrait scaled to size, NOT distance

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Atmospheric Comparison

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Not a Perfect Sphere

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Atmospheric Appearance

•Fluid Mechanics•viscous flow•turbulent flow•eddies•cyclones

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Saturn’s Interior

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Saturn’s Magnetic Field

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Saturn’s Magnetic Field•8,000 times Earth’s•1/2 of Jupiter’s•similar rotation

•therefore metallic hydrogen shell is smaller

Saturn’s Magnetosphere•smaller than Jupiter’s•large ring system “damps out” charged particles

Synchrotron Radiation

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Saturn’s Aurora

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Rings Rings Rings – NOT REAL COLOR

[Source: James Schombert, University of Oregon]

Rings around the Jovians

Ring Irregularities