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==Natural satellites==
==Natural satellites==
[[File:Saturn's Rings PIA03550.jpg|thumb|Saturn's Rings (Artist's Concept) <ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn%27s_Rings_PIA03550.jpgwiki]</ref>
[[File:Saturn's Rings PIA03550.jpg|thumb|Saturn's Rings (Artist's Concept) <ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saturn%27s_Rings_PIA03550.jpgwiki]</ref>]]
Saturn has 274 known moons, 63 of which have formal names. There is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40–500 meters in Saturn's rings, which are not considered to be true moons.
Saturn has 274 known moons, 63 of which have formal names. There is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40–500 meters in Saturn's rings, which are not considered to be true moons.

Revision as of 02:39, 13 February 2026

File:Saturn compared to Earth and the Moon.png
Saturn's size compared to Earth [1]


Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. The planet has a bright and extensive system of rings, composed mainly of ice particles, with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture, who was the father of the god Jupiter.The Romans named the seventh day of the week Saturday, Sāturni diēs, "Saturn's Day", for the planet Saturn.

Hexagonal cloud patterns

File:Rotatingsaturnhexagon.gif
Satellite picture of the "hexagon on Saturn" - it is a hexagon twice as wide as Earth around Saturn's north pole. First observed by the Voyager 1 probe in the 1980s, the hexagon has been sighted still by the Cassini probe [2]

A persisting hexagonal wave pattern around the north polar vortex in the atmosphere at about 78°N was first noted in the Voyager images.

Natural satellites

File:Saturn's Rings PIA03550.jpg
Saturn's Rings (Artist's Concept) [3]

Saturn has 274 known moons, 63 of which have formal names. There is evidence of dozens to hundreds of moonlets with diameters of 40–500 meters in Saturn's rings, which are not considered to be true moons.