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SATURN: THE BASICS

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest planet in our solar system after Jupiter.

It is regarded as the 'jewel of the solar system' with its sunning rings.  

It is not the only planet to have rings but none are as spectacular or as complicated as Saturn's.

Like Jupiter, Saturn is a massive ball made mostly of hydrogen and helium, with some heavy elements.

Its core stretches out to cover 60 per cent of the radius of the world.

It is similar to the rest of the planet, but made of a 'slush' like material of gasses, metallic fluids, rock and ice. 

The farthest planet from Earth discovered by the naked eye, Saturn has been known since ancient times. 

The planet is named for the Roman god of agriculture and wealth, who was also the father of Jupiter. 

While planet Saturn is an unlikely place for living things to take hold, the same is not true of some of its many moons.

Satellites like Enceladus and Titan, home to internal oceans, could possibly support life. 

Facts and figures 

Distance from Sun: 1.434 billion km

Orbital period: 29 years

Surface area: 42.7 billion km²

Radius: 58,232 km

Mass: 5.683 × 10^26 kg (95.16 M⊕)

Length of day: 0d 10h 42m

Moons: 82 with formal designations; innumerable additional moonlets 

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