Saturn and its rings

Captured after a lunar and terrestrial telescope occultation, Saturn's splendor, just moments away, is revealed in incredible images.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System after Jupiter. Belonging to the group two gas giants, it has about 95 Earth masses and orbits at an average distance of 9.5 astronomical units (about 9.5 times the distance from Earth to the Sun).

It has a small rocky core surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and helium. Its atmosphere, also composed mainly of hydrogen, presents belts with strong winds whose energy comes both from the heat received from the Sun and from the energy radiated from its center. However, these bands have a slightly prominent appearance with coloration that varies from brown to yellow, due to the thick snow that surrounds the planet, in addition to two layers of clouds. Large storm systems appear seasonally, in addition to the permanent vortices existing at the poles.

Its magnetosphere generates, among other phenomena, auroras at its poles. One of the origins of its magnetic field is the planet's rapid rotation (less than eleven hours), which makes Saturn the flattest planet in the Solar System. Models suggest that planet Earth formed closer to the Sun, due to gravitational interaction with other bodies, migrating for a long time. One of Saturn's most notable features is its complex and prominent anis system, formed by water ice. In addition to two years, more than eighty natural satellites revolve around us, two of which stand out, Titan shrouded in a thick methane atmosphere.

Seen from Earth, Saturn appears to be a bright star in the sky, easily visible. Only after the invention of the telescope, however, were its rings and satellites discovered. While the quality of the two observing instruments has evolved, the sending of space probes has revealed unprecedented detail.

Captured after a lunar and terrestrial telescope occultation, Saturn's splendor is slowly revealed in these incredible images.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System behind Jupiter. Belonging to the group of gas giants, it has about 95 Earth masses and orbits at an average distance of 9.5 astronomical units (about 9.5 times the distance from Earth to the Sun).

It has a small rocky core surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and helium. Its atmosphere, also composed mainly of hydrogen, has bands with strong winds whose energy comes both from the heat received from the Sun and from the energy radiated from its center. However, these bands have a little highlighted appearance with a color that varies from brown to yellowish, due to the thick fog that surrounds the planet, in addition to the layers of clouds. Seasonally, large storm systems appear, in addition to the permanent vortices existing at the poles.

Its magnetosphere generates, among other phenomena, auroras at its poles. One of the origins of its magnetic field is the planet's rapid rotation (less than eleven hours), which makes Saturn the flattest planet in the Solar System. Models suggest that the planet would have formed closer to the Sun, but, due to gravitational interaction with other bodies, it migrated further away. One of Saturn's most notable features is its complex and prominent ring system, formed by water ice. In addition to the rings, more than eighty natural satellites revolve around them, of which Titan stands out, enveloped in a thick methane atmosphere.

Seen from Earth, Saturn appears to be a bright star in the easily visible sky. Only after the invention of the telescope, however, were its rings and satellites discovered. While the quality of observation instruments has evolved, the sending of space probes has revealed unprecedented detail.

Captured after a lunar and terrestrial telescope occultation, Saturn's splendor is slowly revealed in these incredible images.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System after Jupiter. Belonging to the group of gas giants, it has about 95 Earth masses and orbits at an average distance of 9.5 astronomical units (about 9.5 times the distance from Earth to the Sun).

It has a small rocky core surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and helium. Its atmosphere, also composed mainly of hydrogen, has bands with strong winds whose energy comes both from the heat received from the Sun and from the energy radiated from its center. However, these bands appear discrete with brown to yellowish coloring, due to the thick haze that envelops the planet, as well as the cloud layers. Large seasonal storm systems appear, in addition to permanent vortices existing at the poles.

Its magnetosphere generates, among other phenomena, auroras at its poles.

The origin of its magnetic field is the rapid rotation of the planet (less than eleven hours), which makes Saturn the flattest planet in the Solar System. Models suggest that the planet would have formed closer to the Sun, but, due to gravitational interaction with other bodies, it migrated further away. One of Saturn's most notable features is its complex and prominent ring system made of water ice. In addition to the rings, more than eighty natural satellites revolve around them, of which Titan stands out, enveloped in a thick methane atmosphere.

Seen from Earth, Saturn appears to be a bright star in the sky, easily visible. However, only after the invention of the telescope were its rings and satellites discovered. While the quality of observation instruments has evolved, sending space probes has revealed unprecedented detail.

Translated by: Georgenes Oliveira