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Saturn
[sat-ern]
noun
an ancient Roman god of agriculture, the consort of Ops, believed to have ruled the earth during an age of happiness and virtue, identified with the Greek god Cronus.
Astronomy., the planet sixth in order from the sun, having an equatorial diameter of 74,600 miles (120,000 kilometers), a mean distance from the sun of 886.7 million miles (1427 million kilometers), a period of revolution of 29.46 years, and 21 known moons. It is the second largest planet in the solar system, encompassed by a series of thin, flat rings composed of small particles of ice.
Alchemy., the metal lead.
a U.S. space-vehicle booster developing from 2 million to 9 million pounds (900,000 to 4 million kilograms) of thrust for launching satellites, probes, and spaceships.
Saturn
1/ ˈsætɜːn /
noun
Greek counterpart: Cronus. the Roman god of agriculture and vegetation
Saturn
2/ ˈsætɜːn /
noun
one of the giant planets , the sixth planet from the sun, around which revolve planar concentric rings ( Saturn's rings ) consisting of small frozen particles. The planet has 62 satellites. Mean distance from sun: 1425 million km; period of revolution around sun: 29.41 years; period of axial rotation: 10.23 hours; equatorial diameter and mass: 9.26 and 95.3 times that of the earth, respectively See also Titan 2
a large US rocket used for launching various objects, such as a spaceprobe or an Apollo spacecraft, into space
the alchemical name for lead 2
Saturn
The sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest, with a diameter about ten times that of Earth. Saturn is a gas giant that is almost as large as Jupiter in diameter but with only about 30 percent of Jupiter's mass. Its mainly gaseous composition together with its rapid axial rotation (it rotates once every 10.7 hours) cause a noticeable flattening at the poles and a prominent equatorial bulge. Saturn is encircled by a large, flat system of rings made up of rock fragments and tiny ice crystals, first observed by Galileo in 1610. The rings are believed to be unstable and therefore likely of recent origin; they may have been formed from bodies such as asteroids or moons that were shattered as they approached closer than the Roche limit. Saturn has numerous moons, of which the largest is Titan, the second largest moon in the solar system after Jupiter's Ganymede and larger than both Mercury and Pluto.
See Table at solar system
Saturn
2In astronomy, the second-largest major planet, sixth from the sun. Saturn was named for the Roman god of agriculture. Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed largely of gas es and liquids. Saturn is the most distant planet plainly visible to the naked eye. (See solar system; see under “Mythology and Folklore.”)
Example Sentences
There is also a plan to send a spacecraft to Saturn's moon Enceladus, which scientists suspect could have a liquid ocean under its icy shell that might even have the ability to host life.
In the 17th century, astronomers Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini pointed some of the earliest telescopes at Saturn and made a surprising discovery.
Saturn lies beyond the solar system's "snow line," along with other giant planets that host icy moons, including Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.
This compound is found in the atmospheres of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and has long been viewed as a potential biosignature for anaerobic life.
New research from NASA's Cassini mission reveals that Enceladus, one of Saturn's most intriguing moons and a prime candidate for extraterrestrial life, is releasing heat from both poles.
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