Moons and RIngs of Saturn - Grace B

Saturn’s Moons and Rings

Grace Bradley

Saturn’s rings consist of three main rings C, B, and A. These are the largest rings and smaller and fainter rings are around them. There are gaps in between each ring. Some are small and some are really wide. The largest gap is the Cassini Division. It is 2,920 miles wide and it separates rings A and B. A smaller division called the Encke DIvision is between the A ring and the F ring. The D ring is a small faint ring that is closest to the planet. There is also the F ring. This ring is faint and is just outside of ring A. Beyond ring A there are two more faint rings, G and E. Many astronomers believe that pieces of comets, asteroids, and shattered moons that hadn’t reached the planet are the rings. Billions of particles make up the rings. Tiny particles the size of a dust particle to the particles the size of a mountain make up saturn’s amazing rings. There is another type of moon. A shepherd moon is a small moon that orbits close to the edges of planets rings. These moons orbit in the gaps in between the rings. Because of the gravitational force on the Shepherd moons it causes the rings to keep a sharply defined edge. It also makes all the materials that make up the ring stay in the body of the ring by deflecting any pieces that drift out.

Rings of Saturn Shepherd Moons

Saturn has 53 moons. Each moon is different and they are all different sizes. Titan was the first moon discovered in 1655.  Titan is the only other object in the solar system that shows clear evidence of stable bodies. Even though Titan is much farther away from the sun than earth and the temperature may be under -100ºC, Titan is strongly protected from the noxious solar radiations by a really thick atmosphere, much denser than Earth’s atmosphere. If a something lived on Titan it would breath hydrocarbon because it is common in the atmosphere. The species would be mostly composed of silicon or mostly made of sand. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system and is considered to be a planet-like moon. Titan is mostly composed of water ice and rocky material. The atmosphere of Titan is mostly composed of Nitrogen. 

Titan

    

Saturn’s Moons   

Another one of Saturn’s moons is Dione. Dione was Saturn’s fourth moon found. Dione rotates around Saturn every 2.7 earth days. Dione is an icy moon with a lot of craters in certain regions. Dione has an oxygen atmosphere that is extremely thin. There is just one oxygen ion for every 11 cubic centimeters. Just like earth’s moon, one side of Dione always faces Saturn while the other never does. Because of the gravity of the moon two smaller moons, Helene and Polydeuces are locked in the same orbital position and they travel around Saturn together.

Dione

Another moon of Saturn’s is Mimas. Mimas was discovered in 1789. Mimas is one of the smallest moons of Saturn’s moons and the innermost. Mimas has a huge crater that stretches across a third of the surface of the moon. Mimas is composed mostly of water ice and a little bit of rock. The surface area of Mimas is slightly less than the land area of Spain. Mimas is responsible for clearing the material in the Cassini Division as it orbits. Another moon of Saturn’s is Enceladus. The size of Enceladus is very similar to Mimas, but Enceladus has a smoother, brighter surface. Enceladus has at least three different types of terrain. It has plains, small craters, fissures and more. Enceladus was also discovered in 1789. Even though Enceladus is far away from the sun, it seems to have liquid water under its smooth sheets of ice. It takes 32.9 hours for Enceladus to revolve once.

 

Mimas Enceladus

Saturn has many moons and they are all different. Saturn’s bigger moons have more to them and are more planet-like than Saturn’s smaller moons. Bigger moons such as Titan are being researched more, while even though astronomers know some facts about the smaller planets they don’t have as much to research about. The smaller moons tend to protect and keep the gaps in between rings clear. Over all Saturn’s 53 moons are fascinating and all different.