Saturn

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Saturn
Saturn

SATURN, THE PLANET OF SORROW KEYNOTE: OBSTRUCTION

A fruitful method of acquiring knowledge is by comparison of similars and contrasts of opposites; thus lights and sidelights are brought out, which otherwise may escape attention. Applying this method to the Sun and Saturn, we remember that the keyword of the Sun is "Life," and at the vernal equinox when THE SUN IN ARIES, the sign of its exaltation, we may readily note the powerful effect of the crestwave of vital fluid then poured over the earth. Nature is vibrant with life, which races through the forms of all kingdoms and endues them with such abundance of vitality that they are compelled to generate in order to take care of the overflow.

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Saturn

Life manifests as motion; but the keynote of Saturn is Obstruction, therefore that is the planet of decrepitude and decay, and consequently when THE SUN IN LIBRA, the sign of Saturn's exaltation, at the fall equinox, Nature is tired and ready for its wintry sleep. The human frame also is energized by the solar life contained in our food, which enters our system through the head and throat, governed by the exaltation signs of the Builders, the Sun and Moon, and is eliminated by the Sun and Moon, and is eliminated by the activity of the liver and kidneys ruled by Saturn and his exaltation sign, Libra.

In youth, when the Sun forces surge through the frame, assimilation and excretion balance, but as time goes on, "Chronos" or Saturn accumulates obstructions in the organs of excretion, and elimination is gradually restricted, the avenues of life are dammed up, and decrepitude and decay turn the scales of life (Libra) towards the realm of death.

Similarly in other departments of life; where the Sun makes the social favorite, by imbuing him with optimism and a bright sunny smile, Saturn makes recluses and sours existence with frowns and pessimism; where the Sun furthers our worldly affairs and makes things run smoothly, Saturn causes provoking delays of the most inexplicable nature; all the world seems to conspire to frustrate our plans.

In the Kingdom of God all things are balanced to produce the highest ultimate good to all, and so the influence of Saturn is used to offset the exuberant life of Mars. The intrinsic nature of Saturn is OBSTRUCTION; he is slow and persistent as Mars is impulsive and quick to change; he takes no chances, but looks before he leaps, and his cold, calculating reason misses no flaws in any scheme.

In the horoscope of a young soul Mars is dominant and the man grows along physical lines much as animals do under the law of the survival of the fittest, but gradually the thumbscrews of Saturn are put on, squares and oppositions bring sorrow and suffering; Saturn is placed above Mars in the horoscope, to frustrate and check him, till it seems as if every effort were futile because of the Saturnian obstruction.

Elijah could not hear the voice of guidance in the fire, the storm nor the earthquake, but when the tumult was over he heard "the still small voice" to cheer him; and likewise with us, while we yield to the unchecked Mars impulses our lives are too turbulent to admit of communion with the Higher Self, but when the sorrows of Saturn have chastened the unruly Mars spirit, when the night seems darkest, as in Elijah's cave, then we also hear the voice that shall speak peace after the storm.

The leash of Saturn is not pleasant; we sometimes chafe, fret and fume while being thus held in leash, but meanwhile we ripen and are more fitted, when the obstruction is removed, to have or use that which Saturn delayed, for as we develop physical muscle by overcoming physical obstacles, so we cultivate soul power by the resistance spiritually engendered by Saturn. The teaching which he gives may be summed up in the motto: "Patient persistence in well doing."

Most of us when considering Saturn in the horoscope are inclined to look upon him as evil on account of the affliction be brings, but that is only a one-sided view, for there is nothing evil in God's Kingdom. What appears so is merely good in the making. When we remember that the destiny shown by our horoscope is of our own making in past existences then we shall understand that Saturn only marks the weak spots in our horoscope, where we are vulnerable and liable to go wrong.

When the weak points have been brought out through temptation, AND WE HAVE YIELDED, the punishment follows automatically as a natural and logical sequence, for every wrong acts carries in itself the seed of punishment which brings home to our consciousness the mistakes we have made.

We must hold clearly before our mind's eye that through the planets incline to a certain life of action we, as evolving Egos, are supposed to discriminate between good and evil and choose only that which is good. If we fail in this respect and YIELD to the temptation the transgression merits a just recompense under the laws of nature and these are the things signified by Saturn.

WE ARE NOT PUNISHED BECAUSE WE ARE TEMPTED BUT WE ARE PUNISHED BECAUSE WE YIELDED.

Supposing for instance that Saturn is in Cancer, then it is plain that in the past we have yielded to an inordinate desire for food, that in consequence our digestive organs have become impaired and that if we do not learn frugality and discrimination in the choice of our good we shall be punished by digestive disorders. We will then be tempted to indulge in dainties and perhaps we will have an aversion for the simple foods which are best for us.

The temptation, however, will cause no trouble to the stomach unless we yield and satisfy our appetite. Then the food, and not an avenging Deity, automatically punishes us until we learn to curb our appetite. Similarly in other departments of life, if Saturn is on the Ascendant or in the Third of Ninth Houses and adversely aspected to Mercury or the Moon it causes us to brood over our troubles and fills our lives with gloom. It gives an obstruction there to warn us that we should be more sociable and not turn our faces away from the sunshine of life.

God is at the helm of the universe, His ministers are continually working with us for good, there is really no reason for blues and if we cannot see it today Saturn is going to tighten his grip tomorrow and crush harder and harder until with the sheer courage of desperation we burst his bonds and jump out into the joy and sunshine of life.

If it were not for the chastening, subduing influence of Saturn we should be liable to run amuck and burn out the lamp of life quickly in the exuberance of spirits. Saturn is well symbolized as Father Time with his hour-glass and scythe. He does not permit us to leave the school of life until the time has been run and the course is finished.

Furthermore he gives to humanity many of its noblest qualities. When he lays a restraining hand upon the flighty Moon or Mercury, the swift "messenger of the gods," he deepens the mind and makes it more serious and better able to concentrate upon the problems of life.

He makes the mind resourceful and better able to cope with the difficulties of our existence. Tact and diplomacy, method and system, patience and perseverance, honor and chastity, industry and mechanical ability, justice and fair-mindedness all come from Saturn when he is well-aspected and it is only when we transgress the principles for which he stands that under the influences generated by his adverse aspects he punishes us until he has brought us to our knees to pray to our Father in Heaven for forgiveness and strength to overcome our lower nature.

SATURN IN THE TWELVE HOUSES

Saturn in Houses

SATURN IN THE TWELVE SIGNS

Saturn in the Signs

ASPECTS OF THE SATURN TO OTHER PLANETS

Saturn in Aspect


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saturn

Saturn (pronounced /ˈsætɚn/[9]) is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Along with the planets Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune it is classified as a gas giant (also known as a Jovian planet, after the planet Jupiter). It was named after the Roman god Saturnus, equated to the Greek Kronos (the Titan father of Zeus) and the Babylonian Ninurta. Saturn's symbol represents the god's sickle (Unicode: ♄). The day in the week Saturday gets its name from the planet.

The planet Saturn is composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements.[10] The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. The outer atmosphere is generally bland in appearance, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h, significantly faster than those on Jupiter. Saturn has a planetary magnetic field intermediate in strength between that of Earth and the more powerful field around Jupiter.

Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty known moons orbit the planet. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Jupiter's Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to possess a significant atmosphere.[11]

Physical characteristics

Due to a combination of its lower density, rapid rotation, and fluid state, Saturn is an oblate spheroid; that is, it is flattened at the poles and bulges at the equator. Its equatorial and polar radii differ by almost 10%— 60268 km vs. 54364 km.[3] The other gas planets are also oblate, but to a lesser extent. Saturn is the only planet of the Solar System that is less dense than water. Although Saturn's core is considerably denser than water, the average specific density of the planet is 0.69 g/cm³ due to the gaseous atmosphere. Saturn is only 95 Earth masses,[3] compared to Jupiter, which is 318 times the mass of the Earth[12] but only about 20% larger than Saturn.[13]

Composition

The outer atmosphere of Saturn consists of about 93.2% molecular hydrogen and 6.7% helium. Trace amounts of ammonia, acetylene, ethane, phosphine, and methane have also been detected.[14] The upper clouds on Saturn are composed of ammonia crystals, while the lower level clouds appear to be composed of either ammonium hydrosulfide (NH4SH) or water.[15] The atmosphere of Saturn is significantly deficient in helium relative to the abundance of the elements in the Sun.

The quantity of elements heavier than helium are not known precisely, but the proportions are assumed to match the primordial abundances from the formation of the Solar System. The total mass of these elements is estimated to be 19–31 times the mass of the Earth, with a significant fraction located in Saturn's core region.[16]

Internal structure

Though there is little direct information about Saturn's internal structure, it is thought that its interior is similar to that of Jupiter, having a small rocky core surrounded mostly by hydrogen and helium. The rocky core is similar in composition to the Earth, but denser. Above this, there is a thicker liquid metallic hydrogen layer, followed by a layer of liquid hydrogen and helium, and in the outermost 1,000 km a gaseous atmosphere.[17] Traces of various ices are also present. The core region is estimated to be about 9–22 times the mass of the Earth.[18] Saturn has a very hot interior, reaching 11,700 °C at the core, and it radiates 2.5 times more energy into space than it receives from the Sun. Most of the extra energy is generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz mechanism (slow gravitational compression), but this alone may not be sufficient to explain Saturn's heat production. An additional proposed mechanism by which Saturn may generate some of its heat is the "raining out" of droplets of helium deep in Saturn's interior, the droplets of helium releasing heat by friction as they fall down through the lighter hydrogen.[19]

Cloud layers

Saturn's celestial body atmosphere exhibits a banded pattern similar to Jupiter's (the nomenclature is the same), but Saturn's bands are much fainter and are also much wider near the equator. At the bottom, extending for 10 km and with a temperature of -23 °C, is a layer made up of water ice. After that comes a layer of ammonium hydrosulfide ice, which extends for another 50 km and is approximately at -93 °C. Eighty kilometers above that are ammonia ice clouds, where the temperatures are about -153 °C. Near the top, extending for some 200 km to 270 km above the clouds, come layers of visible cloud tops and a hydrogen and helium atmosphere.[20] Saturn's winds are among the Solar System's fastest. Voyager data indicate peak easterly winds of 500 m/s (1,800 km/h).[10] Saturn's finer cloud patterns were not observed until the Voyager flybys. Since then, however, Earth-based telescopy has improved to the point where regular observations can be made.

Saturn's usually bland atmosphere occasionally exhibits long-lived ovals and other features common on Jupiter. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope observed an enormous white cloud near Saturn's equator which was not present during the Voyager encounters, and, in 1994, another smaller storm was observed. The 1990 storm was an example of a Great White Spot, a unique but short-lived phenomenon which occurs once every Saturnian year, or roughly every 30 Earth years, around the time of the northern hemisphere's summer solstice.[21] Previous Great White Spots were observed in 1876, 1903, 1933, and 1960, with the 1933 storm being the most famous. If the periodicity is maintained, another storm will occur in about 2020.[22]

In recent images from the Cassini spacecraft, Saturn's northern hemisphere appears a bright blue, similar to Uranus, as can be seen in the image below. This blue color cannot currently be observed from Earth, because Saturn's rings are currently blocking its northern hemisphere. The color is most likely caused by Rayleigh scattering.

Astronomers using infrared imaging have shown that Saturn has a warm polar vortex and that it is the only such feature known in the solar system. This, they say, is the warmest spot on Saturn. Whereas temperatures on Saturn are normally -185 °C, temperatures on the vortex often reach as high as -122 °C.[24]

A persisting hexagonal wave pattern around the north polar vortex in the atmosphere at about 78°N was first noted in the Voyager images.[25][26] Unlike the north pole, HST imaging of the south polar region indicates the presence of a jet stream, but no strong polar vortex nor any hexagonal standing wave.[27] However, NASA reported in November 2006 that the Cassini spacecraft observed a 'hurricane-like' storm locked to the south pole that had a clearly defined eyewall.[28] This observation is particularly notable because eyewall clouds had not previously been seen on any planet other than Earth (including a failure to observe an eyewall in the Great Red Spot of Jupiter by the Galileo spacecraft).[29]

The straight sides of the northern polar hexagon are each about 13,800 km long. The entire structure rotates with a period of 10h 39 m 24s, the same period as that of the planet's radio emissions, which is assumed to be equal to the period of rotation of Saturn's interior. The hexagonal feature does not shift in longitude like the other clouds in the visible atmosphere.

The pattern's origin is a matter of much speculation. Most astronomers seem to think some sort of standing-wave pattern in the atmosphere; but the hexagon might be a novel sort of aurora. More extreme speculation has Saturn's radio emissions emanating from the hexagon (something we can see and which has the right rotation period) rather than from the planet's interior (something we cannot see).[30] Polygon shapes have been replicated in spinning buckets of fluid in a laboratory.[31]

Magnetic field and magnetosphere

Saturn has an intrinsic magnetic field that has a simple, symmetric shape—a magnetic dipole. Its strength at the equator—0.2 gauss (20 µT)—is approximately one twentieth than that of the field around Jupiter and slightly weaker than Earth's magnetic field.[32] As a result the cronian magnetosphere is much smaller than the jovian and extends slightly beyond the orbit of Titan.[33] Most probably, the magnetic field is generated similarly to that of Jupiter—by currents in the metallic-hydrogen layer, which is called a metallic-hydrogen dynamo.[33] Similarly to those of other planets, this magnetosphere is efficient at deflecting the solar wind particles from the Sun. The moon Titan orbits within the outer part of Saturn's magnetosphere and contributes plasma from the ionized particles in Titan's outer atmosphere.[32]

Orbit and rotation

The average distance between Saturn and the Sun is over 1,400,000,000 km (9 AU). With an average orbital speed of 9.69 km/s,[3] it takes Saturn 10,759 Earth days (or about 29½ years), to finish one revolution around the Sun.[3] The elliptical orbit of Saturn is inclined 2.48° relative to the orbital plane of the Earth.[3] Because of an eccentricity of 0.056, the distance between Saturn and the Sun varies by approximately 155,000,000 km between perihelion and aphelion,[3] which are the nearest and most distant points of the planet along its orbital path, respectively.

The visible features on Saturn rotate at different rates depending on latitude, and multiple rotation periods have been assigned to various regions (as in Jupiter's case): System I has a period of 10 h 14 min 00 s (844.3°/d) and encompasses the Equatorial Zone, which extends from the northern edge of the South Equatorial Belt to the southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt. All other Saturnian latitudes have been assigned a rotation period of 10 h 39 min 24 s (810.76°/d), which is System II. System III, based on radio emissions from the planet in the period of the Voyager flybys, has a period of 10 h 39 min 22.4 s (810.8°/d); because it is very close to System II, it has largely superseded it.

However, a precise value for the rotation period of the interior remains elusive. While approaching Saturn in 2004, the Cassini spacecraft found that the radio rotation period of Saturn had increased appreciably, to approximately 10 h 45 m 45 s (± 36 s).[34] The cause of the change is unknown—it was thought to be due to a movement of the radio source to a different latitude inside Saturn, with a different rotational period, rather than because of a change in Saturn's rotation.

Later, in March 2007, it was found that the rotation of the radio emissions did not trace the rotation of the planet, but rather is produced by convection of the plasma disc, which is dependent also on other factors besides the planet's rotation. It was reported that the variance in measured rotation periods may be caused by geyser activity on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The water vapor emitted into Saturn's orbit by this activity becomes charged and "weighs down" Saturn's magnetic field, slowing its rotation slightly relative to the rotation of the planet itself. At the time it was stated that there is no currently known method of determining the rotation rate of Saturn's core.[35][36][37]

The latest estimate of Saturn's rotation based on a compilation of various measurements from the Cassini, Voyager and Pioneer probes was reported in September 2007 is 10 hours, 32 minutes, 35 seconds.[38]

Planetary rings

Saturn is probably best known for its system of planetary rings, which makes it the most visually remarkable object in the solar system.[17]

History

The rings were first observed by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with his telescope, but he was unable to identify them as such. He wrote to the Duke of Tuscany that "The planet Saturn is not alone, but is composed of three, which almost touch one another and never move nor change with respect to one another. They are arranged in a line parallel to the zodiac, and the middle one (Saturn itself) is about three times the size of the lateral ones [the edges of the rings]." He also described Saturn as having "ears." In 1612 the plane of the rings was oriented directly at the Earth and the rings appeared to vanish. Mystified, Galileo wondered, "Has Saturn swallowed his children?", referring to the myth of the god Saturn eating his own children to prevent them from overthrowing him.[39] Then, in 1613, they reappeared again, further confusing Galileo.[40]

In 1655, Christiaan Huygens became the first person to suggest that Saturn was surrounded by a ring. Using a telescope that was far superior to those available to Galileo, Huygens observed Saturn and wrote that "It [Saturn] is surrounded by a thin, flat, ring, nowhere touching, inclined to the ecliptic."[40]

In 1675, Giovanni Domenico Cassini determined that Saturn's ring was composed of multiple smaller rings with gaps between them; the largest of these gaps was later named the Cassini Division. This division in itself is a 4,800 km wide region between the A Ring and B Ring.[41]

In 1859, James Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that the rings could not be solid or they would become unstable and break apart. He proposed that the rings must be composed of numerous small particles, all independently orbiting Saturn.[42] Maxwell's theory was proven correct in 1895 through spectroscopic studies of the rings carried out by James Keeler of Lick Observatory.

Physical characteristics

The rings can be viewed using a quite modest modern telescope or with good binoculars. They extend from 6,630 km to 120,700 km above Saturn's equator, average approximately 20 meters in thickness, and are composed of 93 percent water ice with a smattering of tholin impurities, and 7 percent amorphous carbon.[43] They range in size from specks of dust to the size of a small automobile.[44] There are two main theories regarding the origin of Saturn's rings. One theory, originally proposed by Édouard Roche in the 19th century, is that the rings were once a moon of Saturn whose orbit decayed until it came close enough to be ripped apart by tidal forces (see Roche limit). A variation of this theory is that the moon disintegrated after being struck by a large comet or asteroid. The second theory is that the rings were never part of a moon, but are instead left over from the original nebular material from which Saturn formed. This theory is not widely accepted today, since Saturn's rings are thought to be unstable over periods of millions of years and therefore of relatively recent origin.

While the largest gaps in the rings, such as the Cassini Division and Encke Gap, can be seen from Earth, both Voyager spacecraft discovered that the rings have an intricate structure of thousands of thin gaps and ringlets. This structure is thought to arise, in several different ways, from the gravitational pull of Saturn's many moons. Some gaps are cleared out by the passage of tiny moonlets such as Pan, many more of which may yet be discovered, and some ringlets seem to be maintained by the gravitational effects of small shepherd satellites such as Prometheus and Pandora. Other gaps arise from resonances between the orbital period of particles in the gap and that of a more massive moon further out; Mimas maintains the Cassini division in this manner. Still more structure in the rings consists of spiral waves raised by the moons' periodic gravitational perturbations.

Data from the Cassini space probe indicate that the rings of Saturn possess their own atmosphere, independent of that of the planet itself. The atmosphere is composed of molecular oxygen gas (O2) produced when ultraviolet light from the Sun interacts with water ice in the rings. Chemical reactions between water molecule fragments and further ultraviolet stimulation create and eject, among other things O2. According to models of this atmosphere, H2 is also present. The O2 and H2 atmospheres are so sparse that if the entire atmosphere were somehow condensed onto the rings, it would be on the order of one atom thick.[45] The rings also have a similarly sparse OH (hydroxide) atmosphere. Like the O2, this atmosphere is produced by the disintegration of water molecules, though in this case the disintegration is done by energetic ions that bombard water molecules ejected by Saturn's moon Enceladus. This atmosphere, despite being extremely sparse, was detected from Earth by the Hubble Space Telescope.[46]

Saturn shows complex patterns in its brightness.[8] Most of the variability is due to the changing aspect of the rings,[47][48] and this goes through two cycles every orbit. However, superimposed on this is variability due to the eccentricity of the planet's orbit that causes the planet to display brighter oppositions in the northern hemisphere than it does in the southern.[49]

In 1980, Voyager I made a fly-by of Saturn that showed the F-ring to be composed of three narrow rings that appeared to be braided in a complex structure; it is now known that the outer two rings consist of knobs, kinks and lumps that give the illusion of braiding, with the less bright third ring lying inside them.

Spokes of the rings

Until 1980, the structure of the rings of Saturn was explained exclusively as the action of gravitational forces. The Voyager spacecraft found radial features in the B ring, called spokes, which could not be explained in this manner, as their persistence and rotation around the rings were not consistent with orbital mechanics.[50] The spokes appear dark in backscattered light, and bright in forward-scattered light. It is assumed that they are microscopic dust particles that have levitated away from the ring plane and that they are connected to electromagnetic interactions, as they rotate almost synchronously with the magnetosphere of Saturn. However, the precise mechanism generating the spokes is still unknown.[51]

Twenty-five years later, the spokes were observed again, this time by Cassini. They appear to be a seasonal phenomenon, disappearing in the Saturnian midwinter/midsummer and reappearing as Saturn comes closer to equinox. The spokes were not visible when Cassini arrived at Saturn in early 2004. Some scientists speculated that the spokes would not be visible again until 2007, based on models attempting to describe spoke formation. Nevertheless, the Cassini imaging team kept looking for spokes in images of the rings, and the spokes reappeared in images taken on September 5, 2005.[52]

Natural satellites

Saturn has a large number of moons. The precise figure is indeterminate, as the orbiting chunks of ice in Saturn's rings are all technically moons, and it is difficult to draw a distinction between a large ring particle and a tiny moon. As of 2007, 60 moons had been identified, plus 3 unconfirmed moons that could be large dust clumps in the rings. Of those, 52 had been given proper names. Many of the moons are very small: 34 are less than 10 km in diameter, and another 13 less than 50 km.[53] Only seven are massive enough to have collapsed into hydrostatic equilibrium under their own gravitation. These are compared with Earth's moon in the table below.

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is the only moon in the Solar System to have a dense atmosphere. While most of the moons in the Saturnian system are small in size, Titan is, relatively speaking, gigantic. After the Sun, the eight planets and Jupiter's moon Ganymede, Titan is the most massive object in the Solar System.[11] Titan comprises more than 90 percent of the mass in orbit around Saturn, including the rings, and the other moons range from one hundredth to one hundred millionth its mass.[54]

Saturn's second largest moon Rhea may have a tenuous ring system of its own.[55]

Traditionally, most of Saturn's moons have been named after Titans of Greek mythology. This started because John Herschel—son of William Herschel, discoverer of Mimas and Enceladus—suggested doing so in his 1847 publication Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope,[56] because they were the sisters and brothers of Cronos (the Greek Saturn).

See also

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