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I Spy… Saturn

By MARILYN HEAD
Toons by PIPPA SANDERSON

Galileo Galilei was the first person to see Saturn through a telescope but his telescope wasn’t very good. What he saw was something like this:

Galileo thought the planet must have two close moons.

Christiaan Huygens invented a special new telescope lens so he was able to see the planet more clearly.

He was the first person to see that Saturn was surrounded by a ring. 		    
 He was also the first to suggest that the rings of Saturn
were not solid but were made up of lots of tiny particles orbiting the planet.

He loved observing and he built many telescopes.

 He discovered Saturn’s largest moon Titan which is the second biggest moon in the solar system.

Christiaan believed that there was life on other planets because they were as beautiful as Earth.

Giovanni Cassini not only discovered the largest gap in Saturn’s rings, but also many of its smaller moons such as Iapetus, Dione and Tethys.

Like Huygens he was a brilliant planetary observer.

 Giovanni started a trend in his family – there are four famous astronomers who bear the name Cassini.
  
Fast facts

• Saturn is a giant gas planet 95 times more massive than the Earth.

• It is the second largest planet in our solar system.

• Its atmosphere is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium and, although it is very cold and very windy, it radiates more than twice the heat energy it gets from the sun.
This is because it is still very hot inside.

• The planet is best known for its magnificent ring system. The rings are made up of icy particles and cover an area out from Saturn equal to the distance between the Earth and the moon!
But the rings are very thin – they are only 100 metres deep.

• Where do Saturn’s rings come from?
That’s still a mystery.
They could have formed at the same time as the planet, or they could be made from one or more moons being torn apart by Saturn’s gravity. 

  
Space Mission Cassini

Even the biggest telescope in the world will not show the man-made object that is orbiting Saturn at this very moment.

The Space Mission Cassini was launched way back in 1997 – before you were born!

The spacecraft is about the same size and weight as a bus.

It took seven years for this spacecraft to reach its destination, even though it was traveling at 87,000 kilometres an hour.

It would take you 5,600 years travelling at the speed limit to get there. 


Snap!
 
Cassini’s eyes are its cameras which have taken many close-up pictures of Saturn.

Signals from the spacecraft take about 1.5 hours, travelling at the speed of light, to get back to Earth.

Huge antennas – each about the size of a rugby field – collect data at the three Deep Space Tracking Stations around the world.

As Cassini approached Saturn, it proved that the rings were not solid by flying right through them!

It did the same thing in January this year.

You can see all the things Cassini has seen so far on NASA’s website: www.nasa.gov and check out what happened to Cassini’s ‘little brother’ Huygens on Saturn’s biggest moon TITAN.

  
Activity: Make Saturn

www.nasa.gov

You need:
 
• 1 x unwanted CD

• 1 x 5cm diameter styrofoam ball, carefully cut in half with a sharp knife (get an adult to help you)

• White glue

• Wooden toothpicks

• Paint brush – about 5-10mm

• Glitter: gold, silver or coloured

• Needle-nosed pliers or scissors

• Small paper clip

• Thread

1. MAKE the rings:
 
• Carefully spread glue on one side of the CD.

• If you want to make it look like some of the rings are silver and some gold, spread the glue only where you want to put the first colour, then sprinkle the glitter on the wet glue. Let it dry completely. Repeat for the remaining areas.

• Turn the CD over and decorate the other side.

• You may want to use black felt pen or black wool to show the gap in the rings – Cassini’s Division.

2. DECORATE the planet:

• Stick a toothpick into the flat side of each half of the styrofoam ball to give yourself a handle.

• Use the paintbrush to apply glue and glitter on the round part of each half, as you did for the CD. Let the glue dry completely.

• Now put them together:
Use scissors or pliers to make small holes in polysterene ball and thread cotton or wool through to hang it.