What are some facts about Saturn?

Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km, which makes it the second largest planet in the Solar System. Saturn’s atmosphere is much like that of Jupiter’s.  Hydrogen makes up nearly all of the atmosphere, with lesser amounts of helium and much lesser quantities of methane and ammonia.  Saturn also has clouds made of ammonia ice crystals, but the clouds tops are considerably colder than Jupiter’s approaching -400 degrees F. Saturn is considerably colder than Jupiter being further from the Sun, with an average temperature of about -285 degrees F.  Wind speeds on Saturn are extremely high, having been measured at slightly more than 1,000 mph, considerably higher than Jupiter.   The most striking feature of Saturn is to most people the series of rings which encircle it. They were first spotted in 1610 by the great Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was mystified as to why Saturn appeared to have two circles, or ‘cup holders’ on either side of it. It wasn’t until a few decades later, in 1659, that the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered that they were actually separate from the planet, and must, therefore, be encircling it.

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