National Aeronautics and Space Administrion

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats in air and space. NASA technology also has been adapted for many nonaerospace uses by the private sector. NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos. Check out our "Thinking About NASA History" folder online as an introduction to how history can help you.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Saturn

Saturn has an 11 hour day. Its equator has a diameter of 74,898 miles. It is squashed at the poles as much as Jupiter is. Its rings are seen by any telescope as the most striking feature.

Galileo was the first to see the rings in 1610. The biggest ring has a 2,485 mile diameter. The total of the rings are unknown. They are held together by the pull of Saturn's gravity.

Saturn is the first gas giant in the Solid System. It has a great white spot differing great red spot. However its great white only appears every 30 years.

In 2004, Cassini went up and increased our knowledge greatly, it was a NASA/ESA mission. It witnessed odd storms at the poles. The southern storm is 2/3 the size of Earth. The northern storm is uniquely hexagonal shaped. While 56 satellites were discovered, six of them are studied as of yet.

The six moons of Saturn are; Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, and Titan. Mimas has massive craters on it. It was first observed by Hershal in 1978. Its diameter is 246 miles. The width of Enceladus is 700 miles. Its surface is of vast water-ice. Tethys is an icy world. Its diameter is 665 miles. Tethys is an icy world. It has a diameter of 665 miles. Odysseus is its largest crater with a diameter of 250 miles. Dion has only a 700 mile width, and is mostly made of water ice. Rhea is the second largest moon with a 950 mile.diameter. Titan is the second largest moon in the whole universe. It has a diameter of 32 miles, which is larger then Mercury.

Titan could have an underground sea. It has a 60 mile wide chasm, which is 1240 miles long. In essence it is like a young Earth. In pictures the atmosphere of Titan appears an orange haze.

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