Moon and Saturn

If you look carefully at pictures of Saturn, you’ll probably notice something odd about the planet – it looks mashed down, like a beachball that a child is sitting on. The planet is more than 7,000 miles wider through the equator than the poles – only a bit less than the total diameter of Earth. That makes it the “flattest” planet in the solar system. Saturn is the Sun’s second-largest planet, after Jupiter – more than nine times the size of Earth. But it’s much less dense than any other planet. It’s a big ball of hydrogen and helium – the two lightest elements – wrapped around a messy core of rock and metal. Despite its size, Saturn spins in a hurry – its day is less than half as long as a day on Earth. That high-speed rotation pushes material outward at the equator – giving Saturn that “squashed” appearance. That shape affects the planet’s gravity. Saturn’s poles are much closer to the center of the planet than the equator is. And anything at the equator is being pushed outward by the high-speed rotation. The combination means that you’d weigh about a third more at the poles than at the equator – perhaps making you feel more squashed on this giant but squashed planet. Look for Saturn close to the lower right of the Moon as they climb into good view, in mid-evening. It looks like a bright golden star. Tomorrow: famous women on the planet Venus. Script by Damond Benningfield