'Saturn' Astronomy Worksheet printable pdf download

no rings at all.

Name

Scientists think that the rings may have been formed from bits of a

moon that exploded in space.

Saturn

Saturn is a huge planet, but its rings are enormous. They spread out

hundreds of thousands of kilometers around Saturn. For their vast

By Sharon Fabian

size, however, Saturn's rings are surprisingly thin. They are only a

hundred or so meters thick.

Saturn is a favorite of people

If those beautiful rings aren't enough to keep you looking at Saturn,

who have a telescope to look at

then how about Saturn's approximately 31 moons? Saturn's largest

the sky. Other planets are

moon, Titan, can be seen with any good telescope. Four more of its

visible through a telescope on

brightest moons can also be viewed through many telescopes on

Earth, and so is the moon, but

Earth.

Saturn always seems to be the

most popular.

The best time of year for viewing Saturn is when it is in opposition to

the sun. In other words, when the sun is on one side of the earth, and

Saturn is a lot like Jupiter and

Saturn is directly opposite on the other side. At that time, a telescope

Uranus, the other two giant gas

with 30x magnification will allow you to see the rings. If you are

planets. It is the second largest

lucky enough to get a look through a more powerful telescope, say

planet, with a diameter of

100x to 200x, you will get a really magnificent view. The three rings

119,300 kilometers. It rotates very fast on its axis and revolves very

that were first discovered around Saturn, rings A, B, and C, can be

slowly around the sun. It is the least dense of all the planets, even less

seen at this magnification. It is even possible to see Saturn's own

solid than Jupiter. In fact, the density of Saturn is less than the density

shadow falling across its rings. Some museums have special programs

of water, which means that it could float if it had a big enough pond to

in which they set up telescopes for anyone who wants to take a look.

float in. Like Jupiter, Saturn has a solid, rocky core surrounded by a

layer of liquid metallic hydrogen. Beyond that is the giant outer layer

Of course we can get an even closer look from pictures sent back by

of mostly ordinary hydrogen.

the spacecrafts that flew by Saturn. Saturn has had three of these

visitors so far, Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2. Pictures sent back by

Saturn was named after the god of agriculture. Our word Saturday

these spacecraft often have their light colors enhanced by computers.

comes from the same root word.

This makes it easier for us to see individual features like the separate

rings, and also shows off the rings in brilliant color.

But why does everyone like to look at Saturn? Saturn is a lot like

some of the other planets, but it also has something the others don't --

those beautiful rings. Saturn's many colorful rings, made up of many

more ringlets, are what keep people coming back for another look.

Like the wide brim on a colorful Easter hat, Saturn's rings are

something to see.

The rings around Saturn are made up of particles of ice and

ice-covered rock. Some particles are just tiny specks, and some may

be elephant-sized. Some rings have more ice, and some have more

rock; some have more space between the particles. This means that

some rings let more light through than others. This is part of the

reason why the rings appear to be different colors. Saturn's rings show

up bright in the sky, while other planets have either thin, faint rings or

'Saturn' Astronomy Worksheet

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