13 October 2014

The Composition of Saturn

Like Jupiter, Saturn contains hydrogen, helium, ammonia, and methane. However, 88% of the mass of Saturn is composed of hydrogen with 11% helium, the two lightest elements on the periodic table.

Saturn has a diameter of 9.42 times that of Earth and a mass that is 95.15 times that of Earth. Despite being so much larger than Earth, these properties lead to a strange phenomena. Saturn's density is only 0.69 g/cm³. Water has a density of 1.0 g/cm³. Yes, Saturn has a lower density than water. What this means that if you could construct a large enough tank and filled it with water, Saturn would float in that tank. No other planet has a density of less than 1.0 g/cm³, though there are some satellites that have low densities.

Saturn is also banded, but not to the extent as Jupiter. Since it is farther away, the clouds are not as brightly illuminated as they are on Jupiter. Also, the ammonia ice crystals in the atmosphere of Saturn are above the cloud layers, preventing light from reaching the clouds, and help make the clouds darker than otherwise. Of course, Saturn's gorgeous rings make up for the blandness of its atmosphere.

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