The rings of Saturn are among the more beautiful objects in our solar system. With their subtle variations they seem fragile, as if the slightest disruption would cause them to fall apart like a house of cards. In fact the rings are quite old, dating back about four billion years or more. They have evolved over time, and were likely much more extensive in the past, but they are hardly fragile.
Titan Fall
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and the second largest moon in our solar system. It has a greater diameter than Mercury. It is also the only moon with a thick atmosphere. It has liquid methane rivers and lakes, and has a seasonal climate.
And like our moon, we have landed a probe on its surface. In 2005 the Huygens probe made a one-way journey to the surface of Titan. You can see a video of that landing above.
That’s No Space Station
Mimas is a small moon of Saturn, about 400 km in diameter. It’s surface is dominated by Herschel crater, which gives the moon a passing resemblance to a fictional space station. For this reason it is often used in memes and jokes, but Mimas is actually an interesting puzzle.
Six Degrees of Isaac Newton
There is a hexagonal cloud pattern at the north pole of Saturn. It was first discovered by Voyager in 1981, and was still there when Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2006. So it seems the pattern has been stable for more than 30 years. There’s been a great deal of debate about just how such a stable geometric shape could form in Saturn’s clouds, but it turns out the solution is surprisingly simple, and it traces back to some early experiments of Newton.
Lord of the Rings
All of the outer planets (and at least one asteroid) have ring systems, but none are nearly so bright and extensive as those of Saturn. Saturn will always be known as the ringed planet.
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