WorksheetsSaturn
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 15mins
The spacecraft ___ has orbited and studied Saturn up-close since 2005 & did so until 2017.
Voyager
Cassini
New Horizons
Galileo
Saturn has the most extensive ring system in the solar system - but it is only
a few meters thick.
a few thousand years old.
an optical illusion that "disappears" sometimes.
made up of rock & small debris.
Saturn emits more radiation than it receives from the Sun - most likely due to
its position as the 6th planet from the Sun.
the extensive ring system.
core-mantle spin differentiation.
"helium precipitation" falling inward from its atmosphere.
The atmosphere of Saturn is very similar to that of Jupiter because
the two planets are about the same size.
they both have a single giant storm system.
it contains mostly hydrogen & helium.
it has traces of methane which gives it cloud bands.
Although there aren't as many storms & bright cloud banding as Jupiter, Saturn still has
as many lightning strikes as Jupiter.
a very weak magnetic field.
a very dense structure overall.
fast equatorial wind speeds of over 1000 km (620 mph).
Since Saturn is just over twice as far as Jupiter is from the Sun - it takes about
8 earth-years to orbit once.
29 earth-years to orbit once.
four times as long to complete one orbit.
10 hours to spin once on its axis.
The planetary structure of Saturn is likely similar to Jupiter in that it has a relatively
small icy/rocky core surrounded by liquid metallic hydrogen.
small mantle of liquid hydrogen surrounded by gas.
slow spin rate.
large upper atmosphere made of methane.
Saturn (like Jupiter) also has a strong magnetic field. This creates ___ at its poles.
massive hurricanes
cloud banding
auroras
more ring structures
Saturn's overall density is about ___ - which is less than the density of water!
the same as Jupiter
the same as Earth
5.55 g/cm3
.678 g/cm3
The equatorial diameter of Saturn is that of ___ earths - making it the second largest planet.
9.5
12
6
2
Saturn's largest moon Titan is also the largest in the solar system.
True
False
Mimas is the innermost (spherical) moon and exerts a gravitational influence on Saturn's rings.
True
False
Mimas also has an oval-shape due to gravitational forces (and resembles the Death Star).
True
False
Enceladus is a very unusual moon in that it
is heated by tidal interactions and has a subsurface ocean.
orbits inside the rings.
is too large for liquid water to exist under its surface.
has cryo-water ice volcanoes.
Enceladus has subsurface warm/salty lakes (or an ocean) due to tidal interactions - which also
may have the ingredients for life.
is in a retrograde orbit around Saturn.
may crash into the planet someday.
has no effect on the rings of Saturn.
Titan has an extremely cold surface temperature (minus 290 oF). How can liquids exist there?
water can exist on the surface if it contains salt
liquids can only exist temporarily on the surface
methane & ethane gases which have a low liquidation point
only solids can exist at that temperature
What other unique feature of Titan make it such an unusual moon?
its proximity to Saturn itself
a thick atmosphere that is at least twice that of Earth's
a subsurface ocean of water ice
solid water/ice surface
Iapetus is also unusual in that it
looks like another "death star" moon.
contains an atmosphere like Titan's.
has a two-toned dark & light surface.
has an unusual orbit around Saturn.
A large enough moon within a planet's ___ limit will be broken down due to gravitation forces.
gravity
Roche
gas
tidal force
Saturn's rings consists of trillions of particles of ice, dust & rock most likely because
of Enceladus' ice volcanoes (or geysers).
a moon collided with the planet which shattered it.
Mimas' gravitational pull creating the Cassini division.
a moon (or moons) came within the planet's Roche limit.
