Saturn

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has the most spectacular set of rings in the solar system. We now know that Saturn has moons in addition to its complex ring system.

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Have you ever seen the <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html&edu=elem&dev=">Southern or Northern Lights</a>? Earth isn't the only planet that puts on these beautiful light shows, which are also called the "<a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html&edu=elem&dev=">aurora</a>". Aurora have been seen at both <a href="/saturn/saturn_polar_regions.html&edu=elem&dev=">poles of Saturn</a>, too, as well as at the poles of <a href="/jupiter/magnetosphere/jupiter_aurora.html&edu=elem&dev=">Jupiter</a>. These "<a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/tour/tour_earth_magnetosphere_09.html&edu=elem&dev=">curtains of light</a>" sometimes rise 1,200 miles (2,000 km) above the <a href="/saturn/atmosphere/S_clouds_overview.html&edu=elem&dev=">cloud tops</a> near Saturn's poles. The <a href="/space_missions/HST.html&edu=elem&dev=">Hubble Space Telescope</a> took this picture in 2004.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, J. Clarke (Boston University), and Z. Levay (STScI)</em></small></p>

Explore Saturn

Interior and Surface of Saturn

The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the terrestrial planets do. Their ...Read more

Atmosphere of Saturn

The dramatic appearance of Saturn stems mainly from the spectacular rings. What is visible ...Read more

Saturn's Magnetosphere

Saturn's magnetosphere is not as big as Jupiter's, but is very large nonetheless. It extends ...Read more

Saturn's Moons and Rings

Saturn has the largest, most complex, and best-known ring system in our Solar System. ...Read more

The Poles of Saturn and its Moons

There's a lot of strange and interesting stuff going on at both the North and South Poles of ...Read more

Planetary Facts

All of the relevant information about Saturn collected on one page, including details about size, orbit ...Read more

Myth and Culture

The planet was named after the Roman god, Saturn, the god of agriculture and the harvest. ...Read more

Missions to Saturn

A table containing information about the spacecraft that have visited Saturn ...Read more

Images and Multimedia

Access wonderful captioned photos and illustrations that will inspire and excite you. ...Read more

Saturn Links

These are links to other great web sites about Saturn. But beware: you don't want to get caught ...Read more

More about Saturn

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that there is a strange hexagon in the atmosphere at the northern pole of Saturn?

Do you know what measurement Eratosthenes is famous for?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Slickensides
xSlickensides : Slickensides are polished striated rock surfaces caused by one rock mass moving across another on a fault.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

New Findings Indicate Sediment Composition Affected the Strength of Sumatran Earthquake

Sumatra experiences frequent seismic activity because it is located near the boundary of two of Earth's tectonic plates. Earthquakes occur at 'subduction zones,' such as the one west of Indonesia, when...Read more


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