Saturn

Second in size to Jupiter, Saturn's equatorial diameters 120,500 km. and polar diameter is 106,900 km. Saturn is visibly flattened at the poles, due to  very fast rotation of the planet on its axis. It takes 10 hours and 14 minutes to complete one rotation. It revolves round sun in about 30 Years (10,759.06 days). Saturn is less denser but colder than Jupiter. Its specific gravity is less than that of water.

The wind blows at high speeds on Saturn. Near the equator, it reaches velocities of 500 meters a second (1,100 miles an hour). The wind blows mostly in an easterly direction. The strongest winds are found near the equator and velocity falls off uniformly at higher latitudes. At latitudes greater than 35 degrees, winds alternate east and west as latitude increases.

Saturn's ring system makes the planet a beautiful sight.The rings are split into a number of different parts, which include the bright A and B rings and a fainter C ring. The ring system has various gaps. The most notable gap is the Cassini [kah-SEE-nee] Division, which separates the A and B rings. Giovanni Cassini discovered this division in 1675. The Encke [EN-kee] Division, which splits the A Ring, is named after Johann Encke, who discovered it in 1837. Space probes have shown that the main rings are really made up of a large number of narrow ringlets. The origin of the rings is obscure. It is thought that the rings may have been formed from larger moons that were shattered by impacts of comets and meteoroids.

Cosmos...