Tag Archives: saturn

Metallic Hydrogen: The Holy Grail of High Pressure Physics

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but at most reasonable temperatures and pressures it presents itself as an (infamously) flammable, colorless gas. In the high-pressure environments of the interior of Jupiter and Saturn, however, hydrogen takes on a rare and mysterious form: metallic hydrogen. You’re probably familiar with the three traditional states … Continue reading Metallic Hydrogen: The Holy Grail of High Pressure Physics Continue reading

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The Real Geo-Storm: Saturn’s Hexagon

Saturn. The only planet that people are able to clearly point out that has a large ring going around it. Ask any elementary school-aged individual and they will tell you that the only thing they know about Saturn is that it is that “big planet with the ring around it.” The reality of this is… Continue Reading → Continue reading

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The Great Titan

Titan Picture Source Titan is Saturn’s Largest moon (the second largest moon in the solar system), and was discovered in 1655. Titan is almost the size of the largest moon, which is Ganymede (Jupiter’s largest moon). However, despite their similar size and relatively similar distance from the Sun, Titan has characteristics that Ganymede does not. … Continue reading The Great Titan Continue reading

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Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings

Saturn’s most distinct feature is its stunning rings, visible even through basic telescopes! Thanks to flyby and orbiter missions around the planet, we have wonderful photos of Saturn and its rings. The image above shows the rings on the night side of Saturn, part of which fall into the planet’s shadows and the other part … Continue reading Blog 5: Saturn’s Rings Continue reading

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The Dragon Storm

In a world where the Sun is but a mere speck in the sky, where one day is 10 Earth … More Continue reading

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Blog 4: The Sirens of Titan

One of my favorite novels is The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. As the title suggests a portion of the novel takes place on Saturn’s moon Titan, though this fiction is more concerned with the philosophical and not the realistic astronomical. I highly recommend it to fans of science fiction. Discovered in 1655, Titan is Saturn’s … Continue reading Blog 4: The Sirens of Titan Continue reading

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Casscenery (The Cassini Photos of Saturn)

As the 20 year long Cassini mission comes to an end, no one wants to miss the exciting events of the last 4.5 months. Cassini is slated to crash into the surface of Saturn on September 15th this year, but not before Cassini swoops progressively lower to the gas giant, giving scientists unprecedentedly close images … Continue reading Casscenery (The Cassini Photos of Saturn) Continue reading

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Hexagon Jet Stream

If hurricane on Earth doesn’t sound horrendous enough for you, imagine the hurricane on planet Saturn! Located on 78 degree North, Saturn’s hexagonal hurricane took its place on the ten most fascinating astronomical facts. The sides of the hexagon length about 13,000km each, which is longer than the diameter of our planet Earth! Scary, isn’t… Continue reading Hexagon Jet Stream Continue reading

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Diamonds Are A Planet’s Best Friend

All planets with an atmosphere experience weather of some kind. An atmosphere allows a planet to experience wind and various forms of precipitation. On Earth, precipitation comes in the form of liquid and frozen water. Scientists have reasons to believe that on Jupiter and Saturn instead of raining water it rains diamonds. Saturn has an atmosphere that […] Continue reading

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Saturn and its Moons

Saturn lays outside of the asteroid belt among the giant planets. With a total of 53 moons (or 62 pending a few new discoveries),  Saturn is a planet that yields a huge amount of force in the Solar System. The moons orbiting Saturn are all unique and have distinct features. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has an atmosphere… Continue reading Saturn and its Moons Continue reading

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