Evidence from recent NASA missions suggests that conditions necessary for life may exist on the icy satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, according to planetary scientist Francis Nimmo.
Key Facts & Summary ; Since ancient times Saturn was known to humanity because of its brightness and closeness to Earth. It’s not possible to give someone credit for the discovery of Saturn, however, the first telescopic observation was conducted by Galileo Galilei in 1610. Because of the crude telescope available at the time, Galileo failed to observe the rings of Saturn. The discovery of the rings was made by Christiaan Huygens in 1659. Saturn is named after the Roman god of harvest and time...
Physical characteristics Saturn is a gas giant, composed predominantly of hydrogen and helium. It lacks a definite surface, though it is likely to have a solid core. The planet's rotation...
The Cassini mission had two mission extensions, allowing for more flybys, investigations and measurements, over a longer span of time. When its initial four-year tour of the Saturn system was complete in 2008, the Cassini-Huygens saga had brought a new dimension of understanding to the complex and diverse Saturn system. The two-year Cassini Equinox Mission brought continued excitement. During that first extended mission, the spacecraft made 60 additional orbits of Saturn, 26 flybys of Titan, sev...
its surface. The earliest depiction of Saturn in fiction was in the 1752 novel Micromégas by... harsh conditions of Mars and Venus. The 1951 novel The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein...
A recent study has uncovered that Saturn’s moon Titan may harbor a thick crust of methane clathrate ice up to six miles deep, which could reshape scientists' understanding of its geology and atmosphere. Led by researchers at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, the study suggests that this crust layer, composed of methane trapped within ice, could explain Titan’s surprisingly shallow impact craters and methane-rich atmosphere. The findings are expected to guide the upcoming NASA Dragonfly...
Before Cassini, we had only brief glimpses of the discoveries awaiting us at Saturn. Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2 conducted flybys decades earlier, taking pictures, measurements and observations as they zoomed past. These missions shed new light on Saturn’s complicated ring system, discovered new moons and made the first measurements of Saturn’s magnetosphere. But these quick encounters didn’t allow time for more extensive scientific research. Cassini changed all that. It began the firs...
solid surface. Density, mass and volume The mean density of Saturn is 0.687 grams per cubic centimeter, making it the only planet in the solar system less dense than water. The mass of the...
Astronomers have made a shock discovery that Saturn's moon Mimas seems to have a liquid ocean beneath its surface, potentially redefining our search for life on alien moons.
feeds Saturn's large E ring. Because Enceladus is coated in clean, highly reflective ice, it has the brightest surface of... of conditions led to the origin of life on Earth, according to...