Saturn

The 6th planet from the sun.  It is called the Ringed Planet.

• Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun in our solar system.   It is approximately 888 million miles from the sun.
• Saturn is about 74,898 miles in diameter.  It is the 2nd largest planet in our solar system.  The Earth could fit 9 1/2 times across the diameter of Saturn.
• It takes Saturn about 29 Earth years to orbit the sun one time.
• A day (from sunrise to sunset) on Saturn is only about 11 hours, about half the time it takes the Earth to spin once.
• Saturn's atmosphere is made up of hydrogen and helium.
• Saturn is called the Ringed Planet.  The rings are made up ice and rock and measure 169,800 miles across, but they are only abou 10 yards thick.   The rings were first seen by Galileo in 1610 using a telescope.  There are more than 100,000 rings around the planet.
• The average temperature in Saturn's atmosphere is -300° F.
• Saturn has at least 18 known satellites, or moons, and at least 14 more unconfirmed moons.
• The United States' Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1and 2 spacecrafts flew by the planet between 1979 and 1981 to photograph the planet and rings and to collect data.
• Saturn is named after the Roman God of agriculture.