Saturn and Moons - Astronomy Matters

1024x768

Saturn and Moons . . .

Saturn was an early god in Roman mythology. The ancient Romans probably considered him a god of fertility and planting. The few myths about Saturn that remain depict him as presiding over a golden age of happiness and plenty in the distant past. The name Saturn is probably Etruscan in origin. The Romans later identified Saturn with the Greek god Cronus. Under the influence of the Greek myths, Saturn's wife was Ops, the goddess of the plentiful harvest.

Each year, the Romans honored Saturn with a festival called the Saturnalia. The festival began on December 17 and lasted seven days. During this period, schools and businesses closed, no criminals could be punished, and Roman armies could not start wars. Slaves and masters became equals for the time of the celebration. In addition, most rules of public conduct were suspended, and entire communities celebrated freely during the Saturnalia.

Saturn is the sixth closest planet to the sun. Its average distance from the sun is about 890,750,000 miles (1,433,530,000 kilometers), compared with about 92,960,000 miles (149,600,000 kilometers) for Earth. At its closest approach to Earth, Saturn is about 742,800,000 miles (1,195,500,000 kilometers) away.

Saturn travels around the sun in an elliptical (oval-shaped) orbit. Its distance from the sun varies from about 941,070,000 miles (1,514,500,000 kilometers) at its farthest point to about 840,440,000 miles (1,352,550,000 kilometers) at its closest point. The planet takes about 10,759 Earth days, or about 29 1/2 Earth years, to go around the sun, compared with 365 days, or one year, for Earth.

As Saturn travels around the sun, it spins on its axis, an imaginary line drawn through its center. Saturn's axis is not perpendicular (at an angle of 90°) to the planet's path around the sun. The axis tilts at an angle of about 27° from the perpendicular position. Saturn rotates faster than any other planet except Jupiter. Saturn spins around once in only 10 hours 39 minutes, compared to about 24 hours, or one day, for the Earth. The rapid rotation of Saturn causes the planet to bulge at its equator and flatten at its poles. The planet's diameter is 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) larger at the equator than between the poles.