IntroductionDefining our neighbours, excluding the dwarfs and extra solar planets whilst rooting for Panspemia brings us to Saturn. Ochre, orange and red greet the viewer. Saturn is around 800 million miles from the Earth.  The great news is she has 4 large moons that would be ideal homes for humanity. The possibility of new abodes aside, Saturn traps you with awe, at her clear rings and Aussie colours. 

Image via Wikipedia

Another Great PairSaturn is twin with Jupiter. Saturn looks unique; visually our strongest living neighbour, with stunning rings, and oceanic-moons. Saturn holds rich streams of orange in the sky.  Thick cinnabar bands rip across Saturn contrasting cold-looking Uranus. You could never set foot on pretty Saturn, however, as those sky-bands hold instant death. A violent and seething realm, indeed, that would burn you instantly to sleet. I’m a Fast, Hot JovianLike Neptune, and to a small extent, Uranus, Saturn makes her own inner-heat. She radiates more energy than she gets from faraway Sol (the Sun).  All the gas giants do it, to some degree. That one day this could become thermonuclear fusion is unknown.  The gas giants, and particularly tempestuous Saturn, might possibly become suns.  Also, a single day on Saturn is just 10 hours long as she races around at 6 miles per second. Saturn spins around the Sun every 29.5 years.  Saturn is second, in a group of 4 planets named, “Jovian.” Saturn is:

1. 95 time bigger than the Earth
2. About 888 million miles from Earth
3. With 60 moons and many moon-lets

Image via Wikipedia Titan, Tethys, Iapetus, Enceladus and Mimas are the 5 big moons.

Titan the MagnificentTitan, Saturn’s biggest moon, is the solar systems second largest moon. Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury and the only moon in the system with atmosphere. As a candidate for life, or for setting up a space station, Titan is a prime contender. The Cassini-Huygens space craft was sent to Saturn. The craft flew twice by Titan releasing the Huygens probe that landed there. A spectacular world of lakes, seas and mountains was found in 2005. Cassini again flew past Titan, in 2008, revealing a candidate for living a some time in the future. Enceladus, Saturn’s second largest moon, spurt geysers of life-soothing water revealing even more viable places for life. Stormy MondayForget about setting foot on Saturn for:

• A Cyclone 5 000 kilometer in diameter whirls at Saturn’s South Poles
• Curious polygonal swells, on Saturn’s North Pole, boom like sonic sculpture
• Lightning strikes 5 000 times more powerfully than anythings on Earth; that would sure make your lucky-day.

 Saturn can be viewed with the naked eye, has been known for centuries as the farthest known planet in the then-known-Universe. Saturn rages 1.4 billion kilometers from the Sun at 9 Astronomical Unit ( 1A = Distance of the Earth from the Sun ) and inhospitable and forbidding realm. Well, Could I Live There?

• On Saturn, definitely no
• Orbiting Titan or Enceladus, in a space ship, yes
• There is plenty of gas for hydrogen fuel, tons of water for drinking and all the space debris is located in the rings
• Titan and Enceladus come up as big contenders for life.

Image via Wikipedia

Haiku for Saturn

Bluer now perhapsDragon Storm egregiousTake me to your moons. More Planets Alive: Part 1 – Neptune Part 2 – Uranus