It’s a beautiful, clear night outside!
And clear nights are a /great/ time to look
up at the stars!
And right now, we’re looking at a bright
spot in the sky that LOOKS like a star.
But it’s not a star at all.
It’s a planet...the planet Saturn!
Wow!
I can tell it’s Saturn because of the rings
around its middle.
Our telescope isn’t strong enough to let
us see Saturn very closely.
But scientists who study space -- called astronomers
-- have tools they can use to take some really
awesome pictures of this planet.
...Like this one.
Nice, right?
And /big/!
Saturn is much bigger than Earth!
How much bigger?
Well, if Saturn were hollow in the middle
-- like an enormous ball -- you’d be able
to fit more than 700 Earths inside it!
Saturn is one of the eight planets in our
solar system.
Counting outward from the sun, it’s number
six!
It’s one of the gas giants -- a huge planet
made mostly of gas!
And like all of the planets — Saturn moves
around the sun, in a path that’s kind of
like an oval.
This path is called an orbit.
But not all orbits go around the /sun/.
Things can orbit /planets/, too, including
Earth!
Like our very own moon!
The one you might say “Goodnight” to!
It travels in an /orbit/ around the Earth!
But check this out: Saturn has /sixty two/
moons!
Each one takes its own path -- its own orbit
-- around the planet.
And you know what else moves in an orbit around
Saturn?
Those awesome rings.
Let’s look at Saturn’s rings a little
more closely.
Scientists think that there are seven major
rings.
Each one is named after a letter of the alphabet:
A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
The rings may /look/ solid .. kind of like
a hula hoop...but each one is actually made
of /lots/ of different pieces of rock and
ice.
Some of these pieces are as small as a speck
of dust, and some are as big as houses, and
even small mountains!
And when we see a picture of Saturn, the rings
look like they’re standing still.
But they’re not — they’re definitely
on the move!
Each of the pieces that makes up the rings
moves around Saturn in an orbit.
So, how did the rings get there?
Well, no one is /totally/ sure.
But astronomers have a some good ideas.
One idea is that the rings might have to do
with Saturn’s moons.
Since Saturn is so big, and has /so many/
moons, some scientists think that maybe, a
long time ago, it had even more.
And it’s possible that some of those moons
broke apart, maybe because they were hit by
other objects flying by, like asteroids or
comets.
And then, after those big collisions, all
of the dust, rock, and ice that was left behind
stayed in orbit around Saturn, and became
its famous rings.
But Saturn’s rings are always changing!
----
Since the chunks of rock and ice are moving
as they orbit Saturn, they sometimes smash
into each other and break up.
That means there’s still /lots/ to see,
and /lots/ to learn about them!
Now it’s time for me to say “goodnight”
to you...and Saturn’s rings!
Thanks to Ms. King’s class at Truman Elementary
in La Quinta, California, for asking this
stellar question!
And thank YOU for joining us on SciShow Kids!
Do you have a question about space or animals
or anything else?
Get help from a grown up and let us know in
the comments below, or send us an email at
Kids@SciShow.com.
And we’ll see ya next time!
